


Naruto, A Shattered Mind

by Shiraia_Writes



Category: Naruto
Genre: Blood and Gore, Fluff and Smut, Imprisonment, M/M, Obsession, Violence, insane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 43
Words: 115,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25821520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiraia_Writes/pseuds/Shiraia_Writes
Summary: Everything went red, literally. After everything that had happened to him Naruto finally snapped, killing the civilians that tormented him.After the incident, Naruto was never the same, how could he be?
Relationships: Akimichi Chouji/Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 43
Kudos: 124





	1. A Bloodbath

A quiet evening was suddenly disrupted by an intense chakra spike just outside the village. The Hokage had been on his way home when he felt it. Immediately, the Hokage turned towards where the chakra spike had been and started running. The chakra spike had been so clear but didn't even last for a second. Worry seeped into him for the safety of the village. Such an immense amound chakra was almost impossible to comprehend and it was so close to the village. The Hokage couln't even imagine the damage it could cause if it were to attack. Still, there was something familiair about the chakra. 

While running towards the chakra spike, several ANBU fell in line with him, reacting as though an enemy has made himself clear and all available ANBU moved towards the thread, though they all somehow knew that it was not a thread. At least not from outside the village. The Hokage felt dread building up in him. Whatever had occurred, it wasn't good. The chakra signature had been so familiar but at the same time unlike anything he had ever felt. It was also too short to really link it to someone. There was a lot of hatred and despair in the chakra, more then he had ever felt before from anyone else. It had been unbelievably strong as well, almost rivalling his own. The chakra had felt like it was lined with a pure form of innocence, quickly torn asunder by the hatred that was so strong from within it, indicating that someone innocent and pure was no longer so. But now, now there was nothing. Only the lingering feeling of the direction the chakra had flared at. 

Within minutes they arrived at the edge of a clearing not far outside the village. The lush green forest outside the village was as alive and vivid as it has always been. Animals calling out to each other, the wind rustling through the branches and leaves and flowers adding impossible colours to the green and peaceful scenery. This was quickly replaced with a vision of red and brown, a feeling of stillness and an impossible silence when they passed through a tree line to the egde of a clearing that had obscured their vision before.

Surrounding the clearing, right at the edge of the redness, there seemed to be a barrier of glistening dust with a purple hue, sizzling here and there with red and blue chakra that ran through it like lightning running through water. Where the red and blue chakra touched, purple sparks formed to became the dust that the barrier was made out of. The ANBU and the Hokage were standing not a meter away from it. The barrier seemed to supress sound and wind, leaving them standing in a zone of complete stillness and silence. It left the scene in front of them blurry and unclear except for the colours. The grass, trees and bushes, everything in the clearing was painted red. Much of the ground was too, leaving just a few patches of brown earth visible. 

All of them stood in awe, staring at the barrier in fascination. No one dared to move, afraid to disrupt the beauty of the barrier and almost forgetting about the scene that laid behind it. The barrier held an appealing beauty that could lure one into touching it. At the same time, the idea of touching the barrier terrified the onlookers beyond measure. The fear of disturbing and loosing this beautiful sight was heavy on their minds but so was the need to touch the barrier, leaving them standing conflicted and unable to act. 

Minutes passed before Cat moved. He slowly edged forward in complete silence. His curiosity was getting the best of him. All the others paid no attention to him and kept staring at the barrier. He slowly edged closer to the barrier. With every step he seemed to rethink his decision, making his progress tediously slow. Slowly he raised his hand and swiped it across the barrier without touching it. Sizzles of red and blue chakra followed his movement, the red angry and aggressive, the blue calm and protective. The purple sparks where the red and blue touched seemed to desperately stretch out towards the hand that was just out of reach. Cat was overcome by a feeling of regret for making the sparks reach out to him while he was still doubting whether or not to actually touch is. He swiped his hand the other way. The purple sparks seemed annoyed by the sudden turn of direction, falling over themselves in an attempt to keep up with the hand. Cat sucked in a shuttered breath at the display of despair and annoyance he could so clearly see and feel running through the barrier. 

Another ANBU walked up next to Cat. Having seen the reaction that Cat got from the barrier, Dog could no longer hold herself back and wanted to interact with the barrier as her partner had done. She swiped her hand in the same way he had done. The purple sparks gave a similar reaction to her as to him, but seemed to be playful and enthusiastic towards her. The lack of despair or annoyance towards Dog made Cat scowl at her in jealousy. Wanting to be a step ahead of Dog, Cat gathered his courage and moved his hand closer to the barrier. As he extended his hand, the purple sparks stretched out towards him even more desperate than before, but the barrier itself pulled away from him, not allowing the purple sparks to touch Cat. Another scowl formed on Cat's face. He stepped closer to the barrier, pushing his hand and arm through it completely. Still the barrier evaded him. He stepped back, pulling himself away from the barrier. There was a hole was left in the barrier. 

After a couple of seconds, the dust started to fall down from the top of the hole like the sand in an hourglass, but it didn't gather in the bottom of the hole. Instead, the dust seemed to trickle down to the floor on both sides of the barrier, pooling on the floor before it was quickly pulled towards the center of the clearing. The more the dust fell, the bigger the hole seemed to become and the faster the dust started falling. In despair, Cat tried to stop the falling dust by catching it with his hands, but just like before, the barrier evaded him, not allowing him to touch it in any way. Dog stepped back with her hands pressed against her mouth, silent tears forming in her eyes as she shot accusing glares at Cat. 

Once the hole reached the top of the barrier it came crashing down all around at once. The dust, the sizzling chakra and the purple sparks were sucked towards the center within seconds after hitting the ground. The stillness and silence was gone, replaced with strained breathing from the group, sobs from Dog and desperate mumbling of regret from Cat. Guild was overwhelming him. The Hokage walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring nod. Immediately, the guild seemed to lift off his shoulders and realisation hit him that the barrier was not supposed to be there in the first place and they still needed to find out what had caused it. He looked at the clearing and the rest followed his example. 

Goosebumps crawled up their spine as the scene before them started to become clear to them. Everything. Every single thing was covered in an oozy red layer. The original colours of the forest were shining through vaguely making the red vary from blood red to dark red. The red layer seemed liquid but viscous and lumpy. Further into the clearing sharp white twig-like shapes were sticking out of the ground. The wind that had been absent picked up again, carrying the sickening metallic scent of blood and the putrid smell of gore. Nausea swept through the group. Everyone pressed their hands over their mouth and nose and tried not to gag at the sudden intense assault on their sense of smell. 

After a couple of seconds, most of them had regained their composure and tied rags over their mouth for at least some protection against the smell. The Hokage made a few quick hand signs to indicate that they were moving into the clearing, first clearing the edges before moving onto the middle. Carefully, the group set out to search the area for any sign of the cause of all this. 

When the Hokage got closer to the sharp white objects, he started to recognise them as adult human bones. There were so many in the clearing, shattered all over the place. Clear signs of just how many people must have died here not long ago was evident in the number of skulls and pelvic bones in between the rest of the bones. Being large and unique bones in the human physique, they were quickly able to count at least 35 different pelvic bones scattered around the clearing. All the flesh, sinew and tissue seemed to have been removed clean of the bones without leaving any marks of tools being used, resulting in clean white bones littering the clearing.

Moving further to the middle of the circle, they saw the only moving thing in the entire clearing curled up into a ball laying on the ground. The only indication that is was alive was the steady rising and falling of breathing. But it was as red as the rest of the surroundings, making it almost impossible to differentiate from the surroundings. At the sign from the Hokage, the ANBU stopped at a short distance away from the little bundle on the floor. The Hokage moved closer, wary that this might be the cause of the death and gore around him. 

At the sound of the Hokage's footsteps, the bundle grew still for a moment before sitting up slowly, revealing itself as a young boy that had previously been on hands and knees trying to make himself as small as possible. Sitting up, his back was turned to the Hokage. 

Faint recognition dawned on the Hokage. The hair was red and soaking wet, but the haircut and the colour that shined underneath the red left little doubt that this was the blond boy he was so fond of. "Naruto?" The Hokage asked in a soft voice. The small body of the boy tensed before relaxing again. With a playful hop Naruto got to his feet and turned around almost in a little dance. A big closed-eyed smile showed off perfect white teeth, contracting with the blood covered face in the same matter as the bones sticking out of the gore around them. "Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully.

The smile dropped so suddenly and fast from Naruto's face and his eyes opened so fast, the Hokage almost took a startled step back. When Naruto had opened his eyes, he had revealed one eye to be the familiar happy blue, though it looked less vibrant and cheerful then normal. His other eye was red, slithed and filled with anger. The colours of the eyes reminded the Hokage strongly of the red and blue chakra that had sizzled through the barrier. "I did a very bad thing..." Naruto said in a soft voice, averting his eyes from the Hokage like a child readying himself to get scolded. Suddenly Naruto looked back at the Hokage with the same smile as before, eyes firmly set in the man's face. "And it was so much fun!"

Crouching down in front of Naruto, the Hokage frowned. "What happened here, Naruto?" He asked in a voice that sounded calm and collected, but the sudden changes in behaviour that Naruto had shown in the short interaction they have had, had worried him greatly, not to mention the confession that Naruto was the cause of the nightmarish scene they were standing in. 

Naruto raised a hand to his head like it was hurting, shaking it lightly and taking a small step back, supporting himself on his leg. For a second his eyes seemed out of focus, but they quickly came back. In a distracted voice and staring at a particular large blob of red material slowly gliding down a femur not far from them, Naruto started speaking in a pained voice. 

"They hurt me, again  
They chased me, I ran

They caught me, I screamed  
They cut me, the bade gleamed

They hit me, I cried  
They broke me, I abide

They'll die now, I thought  
They'll regret now, I fought

They are apart, I caused  
They are together, I paused"

After speaking, Naruto started chanting "I'm so sorry" over and over again as he sat down, ignoring the confused stare the Hokage gave him. Silent tears ran down Naruto's face, drawing lines in the mask of red gore. Naruto pressed his hand into the red soil before him, before lifting his hand slightly and dragging his fingers through it, mixing the gore with the dirt. He looked distraught at what he had done.

"What do you mean?" The Hokage asked. 

The distraught boy changed quickly into a gleeful mess, giggling and smiling and running his hands through the mess in front of him like a child in a sandbox. "They always hurt me, they chase me. Even if I run as fast as I can, they always catch me. Even if I scream, they cut me. What scares me the most is the gleam of the blade, because pain will follow, I know that. No matter how hard I cry, they keep hitting and hurting me. They broke me and I let them this time. I made them die. I made them regret hurting me. I tore flesh from bone in a second, I caused their deaths. Now they can no longer be alone, but always be together because they all got mixed up and they became the red. And then I paused everything." Naruto explained again, this time in a childish voice filled with glee. "It was so much fun!" He adds, again with a big smile. Naruto's face dropped to an emotionless expression, letting his eyes slide over to Cat. "Why did Cat unpause it? Everything will disappear now..." Naruto mumbles to himself, voice filled with disappointment and unhappiness.

Standing up again, Naruto started skipping away from the Hokage. He bent down to pick something up. Clenching it close to his chest, Naruto skipped his way back to the Hokage. "I have a present for you..." He said with a little mischief in his voice. A bit reluctant, the Hokage extended his hand for the boy. Naruto giggled as he brought his hands forward, one hand on top as if to hide the present. Something warm, wet and sticky fell on the palm of the Hokage's hand. He struggled not to pull back his hand in disgust. He didn't want to upset Naruto by reacting the wrong way. 

As soon as Naruto had released his present into the Hokage's hands, Naruto pushed the Hokage's hands down with the hand on top of the present, stood up tiptoed and leaned towards the Hokage. Cupping his other hand around his mouth to whisper, he motioned the Hokage to lean in closer with his head. The Hokage leaned in obligingly. "Sorry, it's not wrapped! This is the last whole piece you will find except for the bones. The rest was disintegrated." Naruto whispered, before an excited giggle escaped him making him clasp his hands over his mouth like he didn't want to giggle. He ran away a short distance and stopped abruptly near a shiny pool of blood. He sank down on his knees next to is and stared at the reflective surface. 

The Hokage looked down at his hand. He was holding a still warm heart. Blood was still dripping out slowly and the Hokage felt a quiver run through it, like a final attemt to survive. 

The Hokage stared at it before looking over to Naruto. Naruto was still staring into the blood pool, one hand gripping his hair and another hugging himself, he sat slightly swaying back and forth and mumbling. Tears were running down his face again. "Naruto..." The Hokage sighed silently. The boy stopped moving and looked at the Hokage with a puzzled expression. "Why do you call me that?" He asked.

"That is your name." The Hokage answered back. The boy shook his head as he started swaying again. "It's not?" The hokage tried again.

"Maybe it was, but it isn't now." Naruto answered distractedly while staring into the blood pool once again, this time with a pained and serious expression. 

"It isn't? Why not?" Curiosity crept into the Hokage's voice. 

Snapping out of his staring contest with his reflection, Naruto looked up at the Hokage. Childlike happiness spread across his face. Like he only just realised the Hokage was there, Naruto jumped up from his crouched position and happily ran towards the Hokage and stood before him. "Jiji! Hey, Jiji, do you know why everything is so red here?" His blue eye sparkled with enthusiasm while the red one seemed to be a bit unfocused and faded. 

"I don't know, Naruto, why do you think everything is red?" The Hokage took on a gentle tone of voice, wondering how shattered the mind of the young boy must be to go from gleeful over the killing spree, to distraught over the deaths around him, to not seeming to know what had happened. The happiness on Naruto's face faltered like that of a child that was asked a difficult question. "I don't know... I don't really like it here anymore. It smells weird. Can we leave?" He answered in a small voice. 

"Yes, I think we should leave here. I would like you to come with me to Yamanaka-san after we clean you up. Can you do that for me?" Naruto gave a small nod and a timid smile. Naruto extended his arms towards the Hokage, looking at him with big eyes. The Hokage moved to pick up the boy, hugging him close to his chest. Naruto relaxed into the embrace and snuggled into the man's chest. "I'd never hurt you. I like you. I don't want to hurt you." The boy said softly. He looked up at the Hokage with a puzzled look, trying to figure out something. "You'll just have to die without feeling anything." Naruto concluded with a nod, sending shivers through the spines of everyone who was close enough to hear him. 

When the Hokage started walking, a snicker escaped Naruto. "So many people died here..." Naruto whispered into the Hokage's ear, before leaning sideways away from the Hokage, looking around in wonder while squirming and laughing at the top of his lungs as though nothing could amuse him more than the sight of the disintegrated remains around him. 


	2. Inside his Mind

As soon as they crossed the border from red to green, Naruto fell silent. The Hokage looked down to see tears running down his face silently. "What's wrong, Naruto?" Naruto shook his head and hid his face in the Hokage's robes. As they walked, Naruto turned around in the Hokage's arms and gleefully watched the scenery of the forest glide by. When they entered the town, Naruto leaned out of the Hokage's arms, looking around like it was the first time he had ever seen Konoha. Between giggles and pointing, Naruto seemed quite calm and almost like a normal child, except for the fact that he was covered in blood and rubbing blood all over the Hokage's robes. The few villagers that were still outside couldn't help but stare at the odd congregation that walked by. Most didn't recognise Naruto and the Hokage was grateful for that. The boy didn't need any more negative attention than he already got. He knew that after this incident, everything needed to change. Naruto was no longer stable, or maybe even no longer sane, and so it was up to the Hokage to find an appropriate solution for this all. But before all that, they needed to find out what had happened, who was involved and what had triggered it all. 

Dog walked up to the Hokage, smiling behind her mask at Naruto. Naruto seamlessly picked up on her and gave her a big smile in return. "I like you. I won't hurt you either." Dog's smile faltered a little, but she recovered quickly. "Thank you." She said, earning an even wider smile from Naruto. The smile snapped away, replaced by glaring eyes staring right past her. Dog looked behind her to see that Cat had stepped closer as well, but Naruto reacted to him in the same way the chakra had done. It seemed Cat and Naruto weren't going to get along at all. "Cats should be drowned." He stated coldly, staring directly at Cat. Cat gulped and stepped back into line. He didn't attempt again to get closer to the boy, but still he felt a little jealous at the fact that Dog was able to so easily interact with the boy. Ever since the barrier, he had the feeling he needed to do anything in his power to get into Naruto's good grace, though he didn't really understand why he wanted it so badly. Maybe it was an aftereffect of the mesmerizing properties of the barrier. It had captivated them all and seemed to have had the most effect on Dog and him. 

They reached the tower without any incident. Dog and Naruto had a small conversation about trivial stuff, but it kept Naruto calm, so the Hokage was glad he had taken a liking to her. The Hokage himself had added to the conversation as well, being rewarded with a big smile and a bright blue eye. The Hokage only hoped that they would be able to keep the blue eye bright and the red one dull. It seemed the more hateful side was linked to the red eye. Yamanaka-san had his work cut out for him with this case. 

"Naruto, why don't we get cleaned up before we see Yamanaka-san?" Naruto yawned in response and nodded into the Hokage's shoulder. As soon as they entered the tower, they went to the closest bathroom. The Hokage told Dog to wait outside and Cat to get Yamanaka-san ready, dismissing the rest. He placed Naruto down and undressed to his underwear, Naruto followed his example. When the water was nice and warm, the Hokage worked shampoo into the blond hair, watching the foam turn pink. The hair needed three washes before the water ran clean, but fortunately, Naruto seemed to enjoy the attention and sat still during it all. When Naruto's hair was clean, the Hokage told Naruto to wash the rest of himself while he went to get some towels. Again Naruto obediently did what he was told, surprising the Hokage. "I never really got the chance to bathe with warm water before. It's nice." Naruto said in a sad voice. The colour seemed to be dimmed in both eyes. He had stopped moving and stared at his reflection in the bucket of water in front of him. 

"Don't you have hot water at home?" The Hokage asked. The apartment he had arranged for Naruto should have had all modern facilities. Naruto looked up with sad eyes. "Only if I boiled it. I never took the trouble of heating water just for washing. That would have been too expensive." The Hokage saw a shiver run down Naruto's spine and thought better than to push onwards. Instead, he dressed in a clean set of clothing and walked up to Naruto. He covered Naruto in a big fluffy towel that folded around his shoulders almost three times. Naruto snuggled into the towels, sighing and closing his eyes. "I'll make sure you get a better place to live. From now on, you will be under my guardianship." The Hokage told Naruto. A weak smile made its way to Naruto's face as the boy drifted to sleep a little. 

The Hokage almost felt guilty, but as sleepy as the boy was now, it would only make it easier for Yamanaka-san to break through. He picked up Naruto, bundled in the towel, and carried Naruto to Yamanaka-san's room. He didn't dress Naruto or even change his underwear to a pair of dry ones. As cruel as it seemed, people felt more vulnerable being near naked and that is what they needed for Yamanaka-san to conduct a proper examination. Leaving the wet underwear on was just another small thing to make someone a little more uncomfortable. Of course, he wouldn't let it get too far with Naruto. As soon as the boy would show actual signs of distress, he would intervene. 

Yamanaka-san already sat waiting in the middle of the room on a small chair. An even smaller chair was placed in front of him. Normally, adults would feel condescended by being given a chair that is too small, having to sit in an awkward position, but for Naruto, the chair seemed to be just right. The Hokage placed Naruto in the chair and stepped away, taking the big, fluffy towel with him. He saw Naruto look up to him, the red eye more bright than the blue, but he kept quiet. Slowly, Naruto turned his attention to Yamanaka-san, patiently waiting for the man to speak first. 

"Hello Naruto." Yamanaka-san started. He was answered by Naruto shaking his head. "Not my name." He said in a cold voice. "It's not?" Yamanaka-san asked. Naruto shook his head again, slowly, keeping his eyes focussed on Yamanaka-san's face. "Then, what is your name?" 

Naruto broke his gaze and looked down at his hands, thinking. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "We don't have one. But we are not Naruto anymore. Maybe we once were, but we aren't now." Naruto spoke in a soft voice, staring at his hands without blinking. It was like he was holding a discussion with himself and as decisions were made, he slowly spoke the information out loud. 

"Alright, then what do I call you?" Yamanaka-san asked. He was really interested in this boy's mind now. Not only was he speaking like he was more than one person, he actually seemed to be able to discuss with his other personalities. Naruto sat thinking for a short while again, before raising his head once again, both eyes equally strong this time. "Naruto will do for now. We will give you our true name once we've decided on it." 

"Alright, Naruto, can you answer a few basic questions for me?" Yamanaka-san asked. A big smile spread across Naruto's face. "Of course! I like dogs, Mister Ino-chan!" He laughed into his hand, trying to hide it but doing so poorly. Naruto sat hopping on his chair, giddy with laughter. 

"How old are you?" Yamanaka-san asked. Naruto held out three fingers on each hand. "Six!" He exclaimed. "Really? You're such a big boy already!" Yamanaka-san went with Naruto's enthusiasm. He figured it would be easiest to get answers out of a happy Naruto right now. "And do you remember what happened earlier tonight, just outside the village?" 

"Yes, I do! I'm real good at remembering. I remember everything! People were chasing me. They do that a lot, and then they hurt me. They did that this time as well, but I think they hurt me too much, because it made me really angry, but that wasn't really me yet, but now it is, or at least that part is now me also. And then when I was really angry, I killed them by using both my chakra. It was really pretty and warm." Yamanaka blinked a few times trying to digest what Naruto had just told him. The Hokage understood it a little better, having seen the site for himself, but he didn't step in to explain. Yamanaka-san was quite capable when it came to figuring out what was meant. 

"Who is the you that wasn't you back then?" The smile fell from Naruto's face. He looked right at Yamanaka-san and slowly a very different kind of smile took over his face. "Ah... yes, that is quite the question, now isn't it? You'll have to come inside for that one. I'd love the opportunity to 'see' your mind..." The red eye burned with anticipation, enough to send a shiver down Yamanaka-san's spine. Naruto definitely didn't mean just 'see'. There was a threatening undertone in what he had said that almost made Yamanaka-san not want to enter Naruto's mind. But he would do what was needed in order to find out what had happened to the hyperactive child's mind. 

"You said you remember everything. You meant everything that happened tonight, right?" 

"No, I mean everything that ever happened to me in my entire life. You see, that is one of the advantages of having two minds in one body. Now that two minds are one, we remember everything. Every... single... detail... ever..." A sad look had come over Naruto, lingering in both his eyes as he seemed to relive parts of his life. He blinked tears away and looked up with cold eyes to Yamanaka-san. "I also remember nobody helping me when I needed it most. You even walked past me, ignoring me, while I was cornered. They threw stones at me that day. It hurt..." Yamanaka-san had to think about what Naruto meant. Then he remembered an incident when Naruto was probably around three or four years old. Yamanaka-san had seen Naruto being cornered, but even at that age Naruto had a reputation for pranking and bothering shop owners. Yamanaka-san had assumed that that was the case that time as well and had left the shop owners to deal with Naruto. He never would have thought that people were actually physically hurting a three year old boy. To hear that he had been wrong... He couldn't help but feel guilty about it. 

"Ah... Look at that, guilt. Does it torment you? Make you feel all wrong inside? Does it hurt?" Naruto sought to look at Yamanaka's face by dipping his head down and looking up as the man tried to look away. 

"If I had known they hurt you, I would have stopped them." Yamanaka-san said. 

"Yes, I belief you would have. It's just nobody bothered to notice. Well, it's fine, anyway." Naruto sat back up and leaned into his chair, seeming way older than he was. "Nothing changes the past." 

"Yes, I guess that's right..." Yamanaka-san was at a loss for words. This Naruto was like an adult in a most unnerving way. He thought it best to just start what they came here to do. "Okay, are you ready for me to enter your mind? Usually I wouldn't ask, but usually it's involuntary, so just try to relax." Naruto nodded before closing his eyes. Yamanaka-san did the same to prepare himself. He transferred his mind and for a moment, everything went black. 

When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't tell how long he had been blacked out, but he did know his footing was more solid than in most minds. Slowly the world formed around him into a shabby apartment. A lot of things were either damaged, worn out or outright broken. There was a boy with blond hair sitting on a couch that had springs sticking out of it. "Hello, minster Inu-chan." He said happily as he looked up to Yamanaka-san. "Why are you here?" The boy asked.

Yamanaka-san kneeled down in front of Naruto to keep Naruto as comfortable as possible. "I'm here to see you. To ask a question." Yamanaka-san answered calmly. Naruto enthusiastically nodded and scooched to the edge of the couch, waiting for Yamanaka-san to continue. "Are there others in your head besides us?" 

For a second Naruto's smile fell, but he quickly recovered it. "Yes! They aren't here, though, because this is my place. We all have our place."

"Can I meet them? I need to talk to all of you." Yamanaka-san asked. When Naruto nodded, he stood up and held out his hand for Naruto. The gesture seemed to confuse him for a second, before it sank in what Yamanaka-san wanted. Naruto's blue eyes lit up like fireworks as he grabbed Yamanaka-san's hand with both of his. He looked so happy with just that and Yamanaka-san felt a little more guilty about ignoring Naruto for all this time. 

Naruto started tugging on his hand as he guided Yamanaka-san out of the apartment and into a narrow lane. It wasn't like a normal lane that lead to different parts of someone's mind, but a memory lane. Yamanaka-san had only seen this a couple of times in his career. Usually, it was either an extremely ordered mind or an extremely traumatized mind that needed such extensive organization to stay sane. Yamanaka-san guessed it was the latter for this case. 

The lane seemed to be lined with houses. The windows were like portraits, showing important moments in Naruto's life. More often than not they were partially obscured, like Naruto didn't completely remembered them. Yamanaka-san also noticed that Naruto was very focussed on not looking at any of the paintings, meaning that Naruto's most prominent memories were of things he didn't want to remember. The doors were mostly normal and closed, but a few were ajar. For what Yamanaka-san could see, there was just blackness behind them. Doors usually represented emotions that were associated with the memories, so Naruto had dark emotions when it came to his memories. Oddly enough, though, all the paint on the sills was pristine and there were even blooming flowers decorating the window sills, meaning that despite the cloudy, dark memories, Naruto still took care of himself quite well. 

The memory lane was quite long as well, meaning that Naruto had an excellent memory even very early in his life. That made is strange that the memories themself were partly obscured. Here and there in the portraits, Yamanaka-san noticed people he knew either turning their backs towards Naruto, or looking at him in anger. The more Yamanaka-san paid attention to the portraits, the more that seemed to be a common factor in each one of them. The only kindness that Yamanaka-san saw in any of the memories were conversations with the Hokage. It was very sad to see the suffering Naruto had gone through in his short life. 

Every few portraits, the window sills would be painted red and Yamanaka-san knew these were memories involving pain, physical mostly or mental if the trauma was great enough. The frequence in which the memories were lined in red made Yamanaka-san sick to his stomach. A six year old should never have this many of them. Hell, even an adult would have great trouble dealing with it and staying sane. Yet when all was said and done, Naruto never really retaliated and never took to cruelty himself. It was amazing. It was like there was another force keeping the young mind calm and even. Yamanaka-san really wanted to find out what that would be. 

As they walked even further down the lane, it didn't seem to get any better, meaning that Naruto had been treated badly since a very young age. Even when the memories shifted to mostly inside what Yamanaka-san guessed to be the orphanage it didn't get much better. In fact, Naruto had nowhere to hide in the orphanage, leaving Naruto exposed to a lot of hatred without a safe zone. That is probably why they started in the apartment, as that was the safest place Naruto has ever known. 

At the end of the lane, the road opened up into a square. The square was circulair and divided into five wedges. Yamanaka-san could see that the quare had been in one piece originally, but something happened to split it into five. There were deep cracks in between the wedges that seemed to lead into endless darkness. These were newly made edges into Naruto's mind and they terrified Yamanaka-san. A fractured mind was a very dangerous place, yet Naruto seemed to be in full control. There must be something underneath it all and he feared the answer. 

There was movement in the four other wedges, drawing Yamanaka-san's attention. Hooded figures emerged from their corresponding lanes and stopped at about the same height as Naruto and Yamanaka-san were standing, forming a circle. Naruto was happily waving at the others, smiling and bouncing on his feet.


	3. Broken pieces

It was strange. One by one the figures lowered their hoods to reveal boys that resembled Naruto, but they all had distinguished features. The extent of the shattered mind surprised Yamanaka-san. It was shattered literally into different personalities, all with their own appearances and all as individual as siblings. You could still see resemblance, but they were definitely separate entities. They were even able to communicate with each other, something that shouldn't be possible with a split personality. Yamanaka-san was amazed. He almost didn't know how to proceed now. Something stood out more to him than the rest. Orange hair and red eyes were mixed in with the different versions of Naruto. Something dawned on Yamanaka-san.

"Naruto, do you know about the Kyuubi?" He asked, looking down at the boy beside him. Five voices answered him simultaneously. "That is why our name is no longer truly Naruto." Yamanaka took a step back. It seemed that despite looking so separate, they were still connected at the core. That would explain how the separate personalities were able to communicate with each other. Yamanaka-san was intrigued by how this came to be. He would need more sessions with Naruto to find that out, because the jutsu was already wearing him down and he only had moments left inside Naruto's mind. 

Yamanaka-san looked around carefully, trying to find the underlying connection and reason for the fusion between Naruto's mind and the Kyuubi's. He looked into the deep cracks between the platforms and his eyes widened. Red en blue chakra swirled underneath, completely mixed but still seperate. Sparks of purple lit up now and then, jumping up from the slow moving massive whirlpool underneath the platform. It was beautiful. Mesmerising. The depths seemed endless and the soft swirls were hypnotizing. He felt like he could stare at this forever.

"Mr. Inu-chan!" Naruto yelled cheerfully. He looked up a bit dazed only to realise he was dangerously close to the edge. If Naruto hadn't called out, he might have stepped off without realising it. He had no idea what would happen to him if he fell into the chakra, but as he looked around and caught a terrifyingly sadistic smile on one of Naruto's faces, he was convinced it wouldn't have been pleasant to say the least. 

Yamanaka-san turned to the Naruto next to him. "I think I need to go. I've been here too long as it is. I'm almost out of chakra." Naruto gave him a big smile and nodded. He grabbed Yamanaka-san's hand and before Yamanaka-san was able to react, Naruto pushed some red and blue chakra into him. It swirled on the back of his hand, just underneath his skin, before settling as a purple mark, a fox head surrounded by nine tails. The tails formed a swirl around the fox head.

Yamanaka-san looked up from his hand just in time to see Naruto step up to him and push him backwards. Somehow, the boy was able to make him fall backwards with such a simple move, displaying complete control over his own mind, which was exceedingly impressive for a 6 year old. He fell right through the mind's barriers and was back in his body before he fully realised what Naruto had just done. Naruto had pushed him out of his mind with childish ease. Yamanaka-san wasn't even able to fight it at all, meaning that the only reason he was able to be in Naruto's mind to begin with, was because Naruto was letting him. An important and noteworthy detail.

Yamanaka-san looked at the boy in front of him wide eyed. He was slightly panting from the effort of being in someone's mind, but it felt only like a physical exhaustion rather than a chakra exhaustion. He looked down at his hand to find the purple fox mark slowly fading and as it faded, Yamanaka-san felt like his chakra was replenished. He looked up again to see Naruto smiling brightly at him and the Hokage standing behind him. The Hokage had already draped a fluffy bathrobe around Naruto's shoulders. "Are you alright? There was a flash of light just now." The Hokage said, looking slightly worried. "Y-yes, I'm... feeling great, actually." Yamanaka-san answered. 

"Okay, well, if you're sure..." The Hokage sounds doubtful, but when Yamanaka-san nodded the Hokage gave a nod back in acceptance. "I will await your report at the end of the afternoon. I'll need to find a place for Naruto for the night." The Hokage said. He hadn't even finished his sentence before Naruto jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. 

Naruto tilted his head backwards, so he was looking at Yamanaka-san upside down. An evil grin spread over his face and his red eye twinkled. "I tagged a dog. You're mine now..." He hissed. A shiver ran down Yamanaka-san's spine at the look Naruto was giving him. It reminded him of the one that grinned sadistically when he had almost fallen into the swirling pool of chakra. "I saw your mind, doggie, I know who you really are..." Naruto continued teasingly. He sounded almost demonical as he spoke. Both the Hokage and Yamanaka-san were left speechless. The way Naruto switched in personality was unnerving. There was no way they could let Naruto go like this. They would need to figure something out in the next few years if they wanted Naruto to be a part of society again. 

"Ya-ma-na-ka-san~..." Naruto said in a sing song voice, his red eye a little less bright, but still more bright then the blue one. Naruto sat up and turned around in the Hokage's arms so he would be facing Yamanaka-san straight on. "Sit." One simple word left Naruto's mouth accompanied by Naruto pointing at the floor. Yamanaka-san blinked once in response and then blacked out for a second. Before he really realised what had happened, he found himself sitting on the floor, a maniacally giggling Naruto hanging over him in the Hokage's arms and a shocked look on the Hokage's face. "What..?" Yamanaka-san said, feeling a little dazed, before standing up quickly.

Both of them tried to get an answer out of Naruto, but he was laughing so hard they didn't get anywhere. Finally, they gave up and decided it would be best to get Naruto situated somewhere safe before discussing the issue further. They also planned another meeting to further evaluate Naruto's mind, but for now, as long as Naruto showed that he was aware and in control of his actions and didn't do anything truly wrong, they decided to leave it. 

Given the situation, they wanted to let Naruto stay somewhere where there would be a lot of control, but without it being obvious that he was under surveillance. Cat and Dog had joined them as soon as they left the interrogation room and tried to think of a place as well. 

He couldn't be placed among civilians and the Hokage was adamant against the cells, though that would have probably been the most safe solution until they knew more. Eventually, it was Dog that came with a good proposal. They would give Naruto a room in the ANBU training facility. Cat and Dog would live with him. That way, people that knew about the situation were in charge of Naruto, he wouldn't be in direct contact with civilians, there would be enough ANBU to keep an eye on him and Naruto seemed to be happy to stay with Dog. At least, the happy, cheerful personality seemed to be happy with it and since the personalities were communicating, the Hokage figured that the rest of Naruto also agreed. 

Kami, it was weird to think like that. To see one boy, know that actually you're looking at five people, but then at the core he was still one person. Then remembering that the one core person was actually a six year old and an ancient chakra demon fox. The Hokage was getting a headache just thinking about it.

Letting Naruto live with Cat and Dog seemed to have been the right decision. For a couple of years, Naruto lived with Dog and Cat. Every few months, he attended a new session with Yamanaka-san, who was equally shaken by the sessions as he was interested in Naruto's mind. More often than not, Naruto pulled a small prank on him like the 'sit' prank, because it turned out to be a prank when they finally got an answer out of him. They soon figured out that the control had something to do with the purple fox mark, but it only seemed to last as long as the mark was visible.

Yamanaka-san wasn't the only one either to have been given the mark. It seemed to be reserved for those who Naruto had a liking for. The Hokage and Dog both had to deal with the mark from time to time. There was one more ANBU as well, Weasel, but unfortunately he disappeared soon after building a bond with Naruto. Weeks after the incident, Naruto had still been hard to handle, showing way more of his red eye then his blue and it took a lot of effort to get Naruto back to being prominently cheerful. 

Unfortunately for Cat, Naruto never truly warmed up to him, despite him putting in a lot of effort to get into Naruto's good graces. Cat somehow seemed to draw out Naruto's sadistic side and it happened more then once that when they were left alone, Dog would walk in on Naruto pretty much torturing poor Cat. Still, Cat was absolutely adamant about being by Naruto's side. So much so the Hokage became worried enough about Cat's intentions to have Cat undergo a session with Yamanaka-san too. It seemed that the barrier, the red and blue chakra and the purple sparks still filled his mind and all he wanted was to see it again, but other then that, his intentions towards Naruto were pure. 

The other ANBU often trained with Naruto around. Occasionally, he participated in the trainings, which usually ended in some badly injured ANBU and a very evilly laughing Naruto. But even in Naruto's darkest moments, he never showed any indication about turning on the village, or more specifically, on the Hokage. No matter what personality was at the forefront, he was always loyal to the Hokage and to Dog. The Hokage feared the day either Dog or he would die, because he really didn't know what Naruto would do then. If the disappearance of Weasel was any indication, it would be a dark time for Konoha if that happened. 

On a few rare occasions, Naruto would be out and about the village without supervision. This time was a couple of weeks after his tenth birthday. He had spend every day after his birthday asking and begging anyone who had even the slightest say in the matter if he could go into town on his own. He had saves up pocket money and wanted to go spend it on clothing and weapons. Alone. What he actually wanted were weapons that nobody would know about, so he had at least some surprises from even the people closest to him.

The last thing the Hokage saw before Naruto disappeared into thin air was his red eye flashing up and an evil smirk crawling onto his face. The Hokage couldn't help but feel like he just might have made a mistake in letting Naruto go without supervision... Welp, what's done is done. All he could do now was wait for the first reports to come in...

...Just to be sure, though, he sent a few ANBU after the boy...

As soon as Naruto left the building, the hissing and name calling started. He ignore it, as always, since he wasn't supposed to be able to hear them. Well, most of them at least. There were always those who deliberately talked about him within earshot. Brave Souls. Or just ignorant. Probably the latter. Either way, Naruto ignored them and made his way to a clothing shop. He actually needed some new clothing and not just weapons and this would be the first time he went to buy them alone. 

As he walked through the village, he started whistling a tune. It was a happy song, but he made it sound sad by slowing it down and lowering the tone. People looked up at him and glared after him, but nobody actually said anything to him so he continued on his way. 

When he neared the shop, there were a couples of kids around his age, maybe a year older. He stopped and looked at them. He never really interacted with children his own age before, seeing as there were none in the ANBU training facility. 

The kids were kind of blocking the door, but not really. They were just a bit awkwardly situated in front of the door, like they just walked out of the shop and stopped to look around without considering that they were blocking the door. Naruto had noticed similar behaviour in most adults. He guessed it must be something human to forget where you are as soon as you pass through something like a door opening. 

Naruto would need to ask them to move to get in, but he decided against it. That wasn't a fun way to get them out of the way. Tilting his head he just kept looking at them until one of them noticed him watching. The girl of the group looked at him before she said something that made the two boys look up at his as well. 

Naruto let his head drop a little, not breaking eye contact with the girl and letting a small evil grin spread across his face. She pulled her hand up and took a step back in fright. The boys stepped in front of her defensively, both taking a very different stance and with both boys the stance looked a bit clumsy and unpracticed, but Naruto guessed that they were untrained. It looked better than academy level, but was definitely poorer than Chunin. Those must have been family stances, because they were different from the ones the academy taught. 

He took a few steps forward, switching his evil grin to a wide smile so fast he could see the kids second guessing themselves in whether or not the threat they saw in Naruto before was just imaginary. Before they had time to think, Naruto was standing in front of the girl, leaning forward and staring her right in the face. He saw her eyes flash back and forth from his bright red one to his dull blue one and he saw the fear building up in hers. It only made him smile wider to know that kids reacted even stronger to his behaviour than adults did. Or at least were more open in showing their reaction.

When she moved to step back, Naruto grabbed her shirt, holding her in place with ease. He stepped even closer and found that he needed to look up to her to keep eye contact. "What's your name?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper, but still clearly audible. She gulped and her eyes flashed to the boys that were now standing behind Naruto, ready to intervene. 

Naruto giggled. This was exciting. They didn't know him or what he could do. They went at him without fear of who he was or what he could do... and what he had done before... It was invigorating to see the boys being so fearless to protect the girl. He delighted in the fear in her eyes for seeing what the boys couldn't, murderous intent. Of course, under the Hokage's orders he wasn't allowed to kill again, but to see someone's eyes fill with fear just by the way he looked at them, he could live with just that for the time being. 

The girl let out a whimper, but didn't answer his question because she was so scared. That was the trigger for the boys to move. One of the boys stepped towards the girl and the other grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "Hey, let her go. You're scaring her!" His voice was brave, unshaken and Naruto almost admired his bravery. Naruto let go of her and turned around, seamlessly switching from his burning red eye to shining blue. Sad eyes and a genuine sad frown now plastered his face. "I-I'm sorry..." He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and looked down, fidgetting with his hands. 

After a few seconds he looked up through his lashes. His small stutter combined with his facial expression disarmed the boys immediately. One scratched the back of his head, blushing slightly and muttering that it was okay and the other just looked from Naruto to the girl and back again. Naruto could practically see him question the girl's fear filled reaction and for a second, Naruto's red eye flared before dimming down again. None of them really noticed, but then again, none of them knew about him. The ANBU were a lot more aware of who he was and what to look out for and Naruto enjoyed the fact that these kids didn't know inmensely.

He turned around again, his sad expression replaced by a sadistic smile once again and his red eyes flaring back to life. "I-I'm Naruto, who are you, onee-chan?" The girl stepped back, pulling her hand up to her chest and looking absolutely terrified. She didn't say anything, but turned around and ran away. The boys ran after her, the one that blushed before called back an apoligy as he ran by and even waved at Naruto. Naruto waved back with a big smile plastered on his face again.


	4. Time for School

Still smiling he walked into the store, ignoring the people glaring at him and shopping with a new found purpose: a brand new place, a brand new audience and something new to do. Time for school. 

He picked out a black fitted sleeveless shirt with red highlights, dark red cargo pants and black sandals. And a few pouches for his upper arms and legs and some new kunai and senbon to finish it off.

As he was looking through the stuff on the shelves, he felt eyes on the back of his neck. He looked around a saw a man in the corner of the store. It was the shop owner, glaring at him the entire time he was in the shop and scrutenizing every step Naruto took. Naruto ignore it, but that didn't mean he didn't notice it. It was irksome, infuriating even, that people were so dense to not see him for who he was. 

He put on a smile, as genuine as he could make it. His blue eye sparkled with enthausiasm. The shop owner might be an ass, but he and the others in the store were leaving him alone and that was enough reason for Naruto to be happy right now. 

He calculated the price of his items on his way to the register. Naruto had learned by now to always know the price in advance and count out the money before paying. Usually, he'd put the money on the counter and then bolt before the cashier was able to tell if it was the price they asked or not. He was glad it wasn't the shop owner himself standing there. That would have caused trouble. 

As he stepped up to the register, he gave the cashier a big, toothy smile. "Hiya!" He yelled enthausiastically, almost dancing on the spot with all the energy he felt.

The man behind the register raised an eyebrow. "Hello." He said shortly. Naruto stopped mid-step and stared at the cashier with big eyes before he looked around him a little confused. "You mean me?" He asked the cashier, pointing at himself. Did the man just really greet him back?

"Of course, boy, you greeted me, so I greet you back. It's common practice." The man replied a bit harshly. Naruto slowly nodded, standing up straight and looking up at the man. "I know that. I-It's just... people usually ignore me..." He looked down, feeling sad. People were mean to him all the time and he didn't like it. But this man wasn't mean. Not really. Naruto liked him.

"Well, I'm not. Now give me your items so I can ring them up." He was still being crude with Naruto, but the fact that the man treated him as a person was enough to make Naruto happy. "Yes, sir!" Naruto replied, hurrying to put the items on the counter so he wouldn't upset the man and then standing there expectedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. 

The man sighed and started totalling the items. It came to the same total as Naruto had calculated. Naruto stopped bouncing and looked at the man with big eyes again. "A-are you sure?" He asked shyly, amazed that the man was honest about the pricing.

"I didn't make a mistake, boy. Don't think you can get a discount." Naruto hastely shook his head. Why did he say the wrong thing again? The man was being nice, well at least somewhat normal to him and he was blowing it with his questions. "No, no, I'm sorry! That's not what I meant. U-usually people ask me double the real price." The energy at the beginning of his sentance was quickly replaced with sadness as Naruto turned his gaze downwards again. 

"Like I said before, I'm not. Now pay and leave." The man grumbled, but Naruto noticed the man throwing a quick glance at the shop owner that was still standing there, glaring at Naruto. Naruto nodded and put the money on the counter, a little over the amount nessesary because he didn't have exact change. The man took the money and tucked it in the register before handing some change back. Naruto stared at the change in his hand. The man put Naruto's item into a big and tossed it roughly towards Naruto, who caught it before it could fall while clutching the change, caught a bit off guards because he was still processing the fact he even got change. "Now scram, boy." He man said. He turned his back to Naruto as soon as he finished speaking, so he missed the big smile and nod Naruto gave him before happily stepping out of the store. 

He walked out the door, but stopped just outside, stepping to the side to leave the door unblocked. For him this was within earshot of the store clerk. "You should have charged that demon double, not given him change!" He heard another man say loudly. It wasn't quite a yell, but there was anger in the raised voice. Naruto was pretty sure it was the shop owner. 

"I made him leave as fast as possible, without pulling any attention onto him. Shouldn't you be glad that most customers didn't even notice him?" The clerk snapped back. Naruto's smile felt strained, but he didn't drop it. Did the clerk really just get rid of him as fast as possible? But it had felt as though there was something more to it when they talked inside the store. He was kind, right?

As Naruto mulled this over, he started walking through the village. Both his eyes were dulled equally as he walked through the village. For the first time in a long while, he was oblivious to his surroundings, pondering what had just happened in the store. He was sure he hadn't imagined the kind undertone in the store clerk's voice. Maybe there actually were still people in Konoha that didn't have a problem with him. A thought like that made Naruto feel a little happy inside. He needed more of this. 

Sure, the ANBU were kind, Dog was too and even Cat was nice enough and Naruto know they cared about him, but their paths had been forcefully intertwined and had worked out somehow. Like family. The store clerk was kind to him by choice. Granted that the man tried to hide it, but he was kind non the less. It was very different from the ANBU under orders. And if one person being nice to him by choice already gave him a good feeling, then maybe finding more people like that would do Naruto a lot of good. Him choosing to go to school might actually be more beneficial than just having new subjects for his pranks. Yes, this could work out in two ways, more victims and maybe some friends. Some could even end up being both. All of Naruto agreed to this.

He made his way to the Hokage tower and avoided the main entrance by leaping up towards the window of the Hokage's office. He took a quick peek inside and saw the Hokage was talking to the three he met in front of the store along with a Jounin. Naruto figured he must have misjudged their age and that they were two years older, not one. Genin, probably getting a new D-rank mission or getting back from one. The first was more likely than the last since Naruto had just walked into them at the store and they didn't seemed to be in mission clothing. 

Naruto sat down beneath the open window, listening to the conversation inside and wondering about the impression he left on the three and if he would be mentioned. He seated himself sideways so he could look inside. The first thing he heard was the last part of the sentence of the Jounin instructor. "...ready. They have improved quite a lot and I think they need field experience." Was the man pleading for a higher mission for his Genin? But they must have graduated only a few months ago and judging by the girl's reaction and the boys their stances, the Jounin must be exagerating about their progress. "It would be most youthful to give them the experience they need to improve themselves!" The Jounin pleaded, his voice raised in what could only be described as pure enthausiasm. His pose was cartoony with the way he clenched his fist in front of him and sparks seemed to flutter around him. His pose gave off the same enthaustiastic aura as his voice did. "U-uhm, Guy-sensei, please calm down a bit." The girl said quietly. 

"No, Tenten, Guy-sensei is right, we must be youthful!" One of the boys echoed their Sensei. It was the one who had called back an apoligy over his shoulder when they ran away in front of the store. The boy was dressed pretty much the same way as his Sensei and was even mimicing his pose. 

The last boy, who had been most defensive, remained silent and observant. Maybe a little brooding. He also stood a bit more to the side, like he didn't feel or didn't want to be a part of the team. "Well, I'm sure we can find an appropriate mission. A low C-rank within the boundries. I'll have it looked into. Untill then, here are a couple of D-rank mission scrolls for you for tomorrow." The Hokage replied. 

"Alright, let's go!" Guy-sensei exclaimed, pointing towards the door like an epic adventure lay before them. He kept to pose for a few seconds, but when not even his copy image student responded the way he expected, he slowly lowered his hand and moved it towards himself to cough into his fist. "Unless there is something else." He said as though he hadn't already cued them out. 

"Well..." Tenten started, looking between her teammates. "We were at a store and something happened. We thought we should tell you, Hogake-sama." She continued. 

"Yes, a most unyouthful boy scared Tenten." The green clad student was still bubbling with enthausiasm, even as he recollected the events from earlier the day. He had liked the blond boy and he didn't understand why Tenten had been that afraid. Yes, the first look the boy had given them had been a bit creepy, but he figured the boy might have been insecure and had found it easiest to approach the girl in the group. But Tenten had told him afterwards that the boy had seemed to switch personalities as soon as only she was in view of the boy. 

"He was really creepy! It was like he switched between different persons. He looked at me with such an creepy evil smile, it made me feel terified! But when he talked to Lee and Neji, he seemed innocent and insecure. He switched like that a couple of times. It was really creepy!" It seemed the only real word she wanted to convey was 'creepy'. Naruto chuckled softly from his place beneath the window and a small twitch from the Hokage told him that he was discovered. Ah, well, he wasn't truly trying to hide anyway. "I haven't seen him before." She continued. "We thought that maybe he doesn't come from Konoha and that someone should look into this." She finished looking stern for such a young girl. 

She got a small chuckle from the Hokage instead of the sympathy she was looking for. A look of indignance crossed her face, but she quickly hid it like the professional Shinobi she was. "Ah, excuse me. Yes, of course it was the right thing for you to report it to me." The Hokage smoothly recovered from his initial reaction. Tenten immediately mellowed down a bit, probably relieved that she was at least taken seriously for reporting something unusual. "But I know the boy you are referring to and I can assure you he is very much part of the village. He is a bit younger than you, so maybe you just haven't noticed him before?" The Hokage questioned calmly.

"Well, maybe, but non of us have ever seen him before and with his hair colour, he should have been easily recognisable." Neji said in a boring tone. He did want to know about the blond boy, but he didn't want to show just how much, if at all, he was invested in finding out who the boy was. The Hokage nodded his head while humming to himself a bit. He was thinking over the situation and was curious to see what kind of reaction Naruto would have if he called him inside. It was a thin line between being on Naruto's good side and becoming a target for his pranks for the forseeable future. "Well, then, there is only one way to solve this, I guess. Naruto, why don't you come inside." In the end, curiosity kills the cat, right? 

A heaving sigh alerted the Genin and Jounin to the presence of the boy just under the window. It sounded exasperated, world weary and dreadfully strained. As Naruto stood, the first thing they saw was the blond hair emerging. He stood up with his back towards the window, deliberately showing his back first. Not to give the impression he was just sitting there, but to allow his temporary new toys to exchange a look. 

And that is what they did. Non of them had sensed him sitting there, not even Guy. Then again, he was definitely not a sensory type and neither was Lee. Tenten usually noticed things, but she wasn't a sensory specialist either. Neji was able to, but only with his Byakugan active. But still, a ten year old boy shouldn't be able to hide himself this well. 

Naruto turned around with a big innocent smile and his blue eye sparkling. The Hokage let out a silent breath or relief. He had caught Naruto in a good mood, it seemed. He didn't fear the boy, not any of his personalities, but the Hokage had a high preference to not be at the receiving end of Naruto's pranks. 

"Hiya, Jiji! What's up?" The sigh they had heard outside the window didn't match the cheerful boy that stood before them now at all. All four of them felt a creepy sensation running down their spine, thinking that it couldn't have been the same person, but they also paid attention to the reaction from the Hokage. He didn't seem phased by the boy. Instead the Hokage looked happy and relieved to see him. 

"Naruto-kun, did you meet these people earlier today?" The Hokage asked, sounding a bit more innocent then his eyes gave credit for. They were shining with mirth, much like Naruto's blue eye. 

Right, straight to the point, then. "Oh, well, some of them, but not all of them, though I have met all of them, just not all of them today." Naruto answered, avoiding looking at the Shinobi. He pusposely gave a vague answer that was still true. He had met Guy before, but not with introductions and not while either of them were showing their faces. But Guy's manerism gave him away. Naruto easily figured out he had met Guy before. 

The Hokage hummed amused at the look on the Genin's faces. "This is the boy you meant, right?" All three of them nodded still staring at Naruto

"Well, then let me reassure you that Naruto is indeed a citizen of Konoha." The Hokage continued. "If that was all..."

"Wait." Neji interrupted. "He has Shinobi clothing and weapons on him, but we've never seen him at school."

"That's because I start next week." Naruto said in a cheerful voice, clear of any doubt. 

"You are?" The Hokage asked. 

"Of course I am! I should be in school, shouldn't I?" Naruto turned to face the Hogake and gave his biggest innocent smile he could muster.

"Right... Well, there you have it. Naruto will be joining the academy starting next week. Dismissed."


	5. Introductions

The next Monday Naruto was up bright and early. As per the Hokage's instructions, he dressed down in terms of looking like a Shinobi. Instead, he wore mostly soft black fabrics that wrapped around him perfectly. Every muscle was outlined, but hidden in the cloth. Shoes he skipped altogether and he wore his hair loose, letting strands of hair falling in front of his face, covering his eyes mostly. The evil grin underneath hidden eyes made him look, well, evil. And that was the look he was going for his first day. 

Of course, he didn't leave without having some weapons on him and so hid a few dozen of his newly bought senbon in reachable but invisible places. 

"Naruto, breakfast!" Dog called out. Naruto gave a last smile to his reflection in the mirror and walked to the kitchen. Cat was sitting at the table and gave Naruto a nervous smile as he walked in. Naruto returned it in kind, making Cat release a pent up breath. He was in a good mood today, so the chances he'd 'play' with Cat today were on the low side. 

Dog placed Naruto's favorite food in front of him, ramen. Naruto's eyes sparkled before he dug in. "Thabks, Obee-sah!" He sputtered with his mouth still stuffed. This was already a good day as far as he was concerned. He woke up feeling very happy. Happy enough even to be nice to Cat.

"Hey, baka Neko, what are you doing today?" A big smile was plastered on his face as he watched with mischievous eyes how Cat tensed up and turned his attention from his breakfast to Naruto.

"D-don't call me baka, Naruto, that's not polite. Today is a training day for me." He fidgeted as he spoke, trying to seem relaxed. But as always, he was so self-aware around Naruto and as always he wanted to give Naruto the best impression he could.

"Take me to school?" Naruto asked. His focus was already back to his breakfast while Cat was staring at him. Dog had placed a second bowl in front of him.

"Of course he will." Dog answered for Cat, walking around the table and pushing Cat's mouth close with a single finger under his chin. She smiled at him and continued in the kitchen. Naruto just kept eating like he didn't just ask a normal, social, happy question to someone he usually only tormented. "And I'm coming too. We are switching each day to watch over you in class." Cat added. Naruto looked up at her and pouted. "Oh, don't worry, sweetie, the only one that's going to notice us other then you will maybe be your Sensei and since we've been guarding you since you were, there is nothing we don't know about you already." Dog said while cupping Naruto's cheek. She added a motherly kiss to his forehead that broke Naruto's pout back into a smile. He had never had a private moment since the incident. Well, it's not like Naruto didn't understand the reasons. It was like being a prisoner without walls, so it was better then being an actual prisoner. It had taken some time for Naruto to realize just what he had done in the part of his mind that was still sane, but still he didn't regret doing it. He also didn't regret Cat and Dog being his guardians; both of them cared for him in their own way and Naruto cared for them too. 

Cat was too flustered after the question to say much more, so the rest of breakfast was silent. Dog tied Naruto's hair into a somewhat presentable mess, for as far as Naruto's hair allowed it. It was always messy, but beautiful. Naruto didn't even bother trying to avoid Dog's fussing. If the tie bothered him, he could always remove it later. 

Like always Cat walked next to Naruto in full ANBU gear. The good mood Naruto was in hadn't faltered and so they made their way through town. Naruto both liked and disliked having Cat with him like this. It helped to keep villagers away, but also prevented him from messing with people. Even though either Cat or Dog were always watching him, it was different when they did so from a distance. 

The school was only a few blocks away from the ANBU residence and before long they were standing in the small courtyard in front of the school. Most students were already there, talking to each other. The parents that were dropping their kids off did so almost without looking back. The routine had made them feel safe in doing this. Neither did the children glance after their parents in trust that they will return to pick them up at the end of the day. Naruto shortly wondered what kind of reaction a child would have should one day a parent not show up. Or better yet, the reaction of a parent if the child was gone. A grin spread across his face as he watched the children talk to each other. Would being a single parent make the reaction worse? Would a mother or a father be more upset? Of course, with Cat right there and Dog watching, Naruto would never get a chance to test this out, but if he ever did...

"Uhm... Naruto..?" A nervous voice broke Naruto's thoughts. Cat stood next to him and looked a bit frightful. He must have seen the grin on Naruto's face. When the red and blue eyes shifted to look at him and the red eye was bright, Cat swallowed and stepped back a bit. "I-uh... I was wondering if you wanted me to walk you to class for introductions." He said, avoiding eye contact. Naruto tilted his head, studying Cat's face for a second, before he smiled again. 

"Yeah, that would be nice!" All previous thoughts were washed away by the thoughts of attending an actual day of class. He shortly wondered what kind of behavior he should try to maintain, not that he always had control over that, but at least he could try. Another part of his mind pushed that thought aside; he was there to play with new victims, not for friends or school. Just let it roll...

A smile lingering on the edge of a grin decorated his face as he walked into the school a couple of pases behind Cat. Many students, especially the younger ones, stared in awe at the fully geared ANBU. It pulled a lot of initial attention away from Naruto, but then set the focus even more on him as being the student with an ANBU guard. Cat didn't knock before entering the classroom that was still in turmoil from just arrived students. A man with a cross shaped scar across his nose was standing behind the desk, seemingly waiting for the students to calm down. Due to the ruckus in the class, Cat and Naruto went unnoticed for a few minutes. Slowly more and more students began to notice the new arrivals and one by one they settled down.

The Sensei noticed them and Naruto saw realization dawn on his face that he was getting his new student today. There was a small adjustment in his attitude. "Alright, everyone, settle down. Sakura, Ino, take your own seats. Leave Sasuke alone. You can talk to him during recess. Quiet now!" Once the class noticed the Sensei was in serious mode, it only took a couple of seconds for everyone to chatter to their seats and quiet down.

"Alright, thank you. We have a new student today. Please make him feel at home." After that, he turned to Cat and Naruto. "Hi there, I'm Iruke. I'll be you're Sensei for this year." He said, looking at Naruto. Naruto just inclined his head.

"And you are..?" Iruke asked Cat. It was uncommon for an ANBU to show up in a classroom to say the least.

"I'm one of Naruto's guardians. You'll be seeing us more often. I'm sure the Hokage briefed you on Naruto's attendance. Call me Cat " Cat said a bit stiffly. He was portraying himself quite well as an ANBU. More so then Naruto usually thought of him. Naruto raised a lazy eyebrow, giving Cat a sideway glance before shrugging it off. Even Naruto recognized that Cat was a capable ANBU when he wasn't trying so hard to impress him.

"Right. I didn't expect you to come in full gear though. I almost thought you were on a mission or something." Iruke-sensei chuckled.

"I am." Cat said seriously, causing Iruke-Sensei's laugh to falter awkwardly. He abruptly turned his attention back to Naruto. "Why don't you introduce yourself, so we can start the class, alright?" Naruto shrugged before he took a stand front and center.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto. I'll be joining your class as of today. Jiji told me to behave, so I'll try. Oh, and I have an ANBU guard on me at all times. The first to find them while they are trying to hide gets a cookie." Naruto smiled. As he looked around the room his eyes fell on a pink haired girl that looked vaguely familiar, but he didn't quite know from where. His full attention was on the girl as she began to squirm under his relentless stare. It was almost a full half a minute before anyone said anything again. "I know you..." Naruto said slowly. "You look familiar, but I can't place it." He tilted his head and squinted his eyes a little. His red eye seemed to come alive when he remembered and he grinned. "Ah, yes, I knew your mother. You look quite like her." He almost whispered. The words sounded intense and were loaded with hidden meaning. Naruto walked over to her and leaned in close. Iruke-Sensei said something, but Naruto ignored him. His brow furrowed. "Your mother had a strong heart." He said, his face never dropping the grin and his red eye twinkling with malice. "Yeah, she knew how to fight when she needed to. You know, for a civilian." The words were spoken softly, so most of the class didn't hear, but seeing their classmate so upset after only a few words from the new student made them all tense up.

Naruto turned and seated himself in the only empty chair left in the classroom. He looked at his hand, remembering the feel of the heart when he gave it to the Hokage. The present. So the woman was a mother? Naruto wondered if the girl now just lived with her father or if she was like him, an orphan. Maybe he should get close to her and find out. He wouldn't be pushing her too hard. Well, maybe, but not right away.

Cat had left as soon as Naruto's attention was elsewhere leaving a confused Iruke and an upset class of twelve year olds. The pink haired girl seemed to be on the brink of crying while a platinum blonde girl was trying to comfort her. Most of the class was glaring at Naruto, but he seemed completely unbothered by them all. After a while, Iruke started class after making sure the pink haired girl was alright.

There was little new information in the lessons given for Naruto, so his attention was bordering on completely lost. If this was going to be an every day thing, he was sure to regret his choice. It didn't take very long however, before a new source of entertainment made himself known. And it did so in the form of a black haired boy sitting right next to him. The boy was stuck up and didn't bother to recognize that someone was sitting next to him. He made a perfect target for small Genjutstu's to throw him off guard, mess with his head a bit. 

There was also another student, one that seemed to notice everything and just absorb the knowledge without really interacting with his environment. One of the Nara clan if Naruto was not mistaken. Together with two other boys, they seemed to be just as interested in the classes as Naruto was, so he saw an opportunity for a mischievous alliance within the classroom. There was, however, this issue of winning the group over. They all seemed to pity the pink haired girl and since Naruto had hurt her feelings, they were among the students to glare at him. 

A bell rang somewhere, indicating recess. Like the other students, Naruto made his way outside to do whatever it was Shinobi-to-be did in their time off. Turned out, they sparred a little, did some throwing practice and talked to each other in small groups. At first Naruto was ignored, but when he walked over to the target area and started throwing senbon instead of the Academy-standard kunai, he quickly gained an audience. The needles were light and had a very different throw form kunai, so the first couple of throws went nowhere near the center. They all landed in the board, however, and that seemed to impress the onlookers all the same. Even the Uchiha came and observed from a small distance. Far away to be aloof, but close enough to follow the small commotion. 

Naruto had brought twenty senbon and all of them were now stuck in the board. He didn't like his result, only half had made it into the actual center and since senbon were only deadly with the highest accuracy, he needed to improve a lot. Still, for a first shot he supposed it wasn't the worst result. He meandered over to the board like he didn't actually care he was now blocking the entire practice area, they weren't allowed to throw if someone was past a certain line, and slowly started pulling the senbon out one by one. 

One of the boys that was with the Nara came up to him. "Can you move it? We are trying to get some practice in as well." He snapped when he saw Naruto had only pulled out around three senbon. Naruto turned to him with the most innocent eyes he could manage and a big smile. "Of course I can, I didn't notice I was in the way!" He said cheerfully. The boy was a little taken aback and stuck for words. "By the way." Naruto added, motioning for the boy to get closer. He leaned in. "You have something on your face, right there." Naruto pointed at two marks on the boy's face, right underneath his eyes. Not waiting for a response, Naruto grabbed the rest of the senbon in a fraction of a second and walked away. 

"Hey, wait!" The boy called after him as he followed after Naruto. The other two boys also joined and Naruto walked to a part of the square that was a little less dense with students. "I'm Kiba." The boy with the marks said, before pointing at the other two. "This is Choji and that is Shikamaru." It was more a polite custom then an actual introduction, because they hadn't decided yet whether or not to trust the newcomer. 

"I'm Naruto!" Naruto answered enthusiastically. 

"You threw pretty well. Where did you train?" Shikamaru asked. Figured, as a Nara he would want to know as must as possible, whether he knew it or not. 

"Well, I kinda can't really tell you, but." Naruto emphasized the last word by pointing at Shikamaru. "If you try hard enough, I'm sure you could guess!" Shikamaru looked puzzled for a second, but then took it as a challenge to find out more about him. It seemed to break the ice in the group a little and the three boys relaxed a little. 

Something squirmed inside Kiba's clothing, pulling Naruto's attention to it. The cutest little dog's head popped out over the zipper and it sniffed the air before yawning. "This is Akamaru. He's my partner. My family raises Shinobi dogs and we all have our own." Kiba explained. Naruto extended his hand and let the dog sniff. Akamaru let out a small bark and wagged his tail. Naruto smiled at him and petted his head. He liked the little doggie, just like he liked Dog. Maybe he was a dog person? It would explain why he disliked Cat so much.

Since Akamaru seemed to think Naruto was okay, it was enough for all of them to accept that Naruto was okay. They spent the rest of the recess talking about the things they did and it didn't take long for a few plans to screw around were formed. Shikamaru said he wanted to see more of what Naruto could do, so he could adap their plans to fit that in as well. Naruto smirked at that. He had been right. School was going to be fun...


	6. Teasing

Naruto sat next to Sasuke, like always. In the year he had been in school, Sasuke had turned into his favorite victim. There was nothing better then drawing out an emotional response from the boy that prided himself for being emotionally distant. More than once had Naruto reduced the boy to tears, but for some reason Naruto had always made sure there were no witnesses beside him. Not even the Uchiha was really aware it was Naruto behind the taunting waking nightmares, and each time Naruto improved his Genjutstu, adding and tweaking it until he was sure only a Genjutstu master could see through it. But today, as an after school activity, he had something different in mind then torturing the Uchiha. Once he perfected it on Sasuke, he decided to also use it on Cat, but unlike with Sasuke, there was no gentle build-up, just straight down to the horribly haunting nightmare. Naruto made his way home and peeked in through the window. Cat noticed Naruto and was about to get up and greet him when a strange feeling washed over him.

Cat looked around a little dazed. He looked around again, but found nothing out of place. Cat was at home, it was Dog's day to guard Naruto for the day, so he was alone. When he heard the front door open and close softly, followed by a few careful footsteps he perked up. He didn't recognise the tread of the steps and so got up to see who was there. "Hello?" He called out, before rounding the corner and seeing Naruto silently sitting on the floor. He seemed to be upset about something, judging from the shaking of the boy's shoulders. He was sitting with his back to Cat, staring at the front door. "Naruto..? What are you doing here? Where's Dog?" Throughout the years, he had come to care a great deal about Dog. Almost as much as he cared about Naruto.

Naruto's frame stilled. A few shaky breaths were taken before he slowly turned around. The moment it took was enough for Naruto to change from seemingly upset to practically gleeful. It was a transition Cat had seen many times in Naruto, but it was still unsettling. It left a great deal of uncertainty about what Naruto would do next.

Cat stumbled back when he saw Naruto's face. The signature blood curdling grin that always left Cat with a fearful pumping heart was now dripping with blood. Naruto's canines seemed to be elongated and his red eye was burning brighter than Cat had ever seen before. The dull blue eye was such a stark contrast, one could think there was no life left in that eye. There was enough blood to be dripping down his chin and soak his shirt. It was then Cat noticed something clutched in the young boy's hands, something familiar and something precious. "Naruto, what happened to Dog?" Cat's voice was shaking, unsteady and near anger, almost stern. It was Dog's necklace, something she held so dear, something she would never let anyone take away from her. A family heirloom and the last reminder of the family she had lost. The silver dog head pendant was now stained red as Naruto ran his fingers over it, only adding more grime to the piece of jewelry.

Naruto stood up and held out the pendant to Cat. "Now we can be alone together." The voice with which Naruto spoke seemed distant and disasociated from his body. It also didn't sound like Naruto. Just like the tread of footsteps Cat didn't recognise before, he didn't recognise the voice. It just made Naruto seem more dangerous.

The grin dropped from Naruto's face when Cat didn't respond. "Didn't you want that? Have me all to yourself? Haven't you wanted that since the moment you took down my beautiful barrier?" Cat swallowed. He realised Naruto hadn't moved his mouth as he spoke. Instead, the voice was echoing in his mind, reverberating and enhancing until Cat felt like he could bare them no longer. "No!" He croaked out. No, he did not want Dog gone. No, he never wanted Naruto all to himself. He just wanted... needed to be precious to Naruto like Dog was, but he already knew he was never going to be and he had accepted that a long time ago. The jealousy he had felt towards Dog had long since been dealt with... right?

Naruto looked up at him puzzled, tilting his head to the side. He dropped his hand to his side. "I didn't hurt her..."He added silently, like it was supposed to be a good excuse to make everything alright.

"N-Naruto, did you kill her?" Cat managed to ask. He still stood his ground, but he felt like everything was crumbling around him. They would take Naruto away, lock him up somewhere and let him rot. They would forget him and Cat would be the only one distraught over it. Naruto seemed to look down in shame before giving a small, single nod.

"Why? Why would you do that? I thought you liked her!" Cat exclaimed. He took a step closer to Naruto, unsure whether to scold, comfort or restrain the boy. Like that night so long ago, tears streamed down Naruto's face, drawing lines in the red.

"B-but you told me too..." He hiccuped and the sadness cut through Cat's heart while his mind rattled with confusion.

"What..? When, why would I..?" He felt a flash run through his head. A memory that wasn't his flashed through his mind. It was a moment in which he felt utterly desperate to gain Naruto's approval, but all he saw was Naruto focussed on Dog, laughing with her, smiling with her, hugging her and asking for her approval. Why didn't Naruto seek the same from him? Cat was as much a part of Naruto's life as she was and Cat put in so much more of himself, all for Naruto. If only Dog wasn't there, then maybe Naruto would love him like that. Unbeknownst to him, he had mumbled the deathwish out loud and the only ears that caught the desperate whisper were Naruto's.

Cat shook his head, trying to get rid of the memory that was quickly settling in his mind as real, the bitterness in it consuming him and becoming the truth. He reached out and closed his shaking fingers around the pendant Naruto was once again holding out. Cat swallowed again, before meeting Naruto's eyes. "You shouldn't have done that, Naruto. You know killing is wrong." Cat was struggling to breath, to see through his tears and to remind himself that the memory wasn't real. Even if it was real, Naruto should never have acted on it. Cat really thought they had gotten through to Naruto during the past years. Yes, the boy was still cruel at times, but he had never showed the tendency to kill again and now here he stood before Cat, soaked in blood and seeming so very fragile.

Cat saw Naruto shake a little, like he was suppressing tears. It broke Cat's heart and made him succumb to the urge to comfort Naruto. He kneeled down and wrapped Naruto in his arms. "It's okay, Naruto. I'm sorry for yelling at you." He gently stroked Naruto's back, hoping Naruto would calm down a little. If there was one thing Cat couldn't deal with, it were the moments in which Naruto was upset or sad. With the hug, he had pinned down Naruto's hands in between them and he now felt Naruto desperately clinging to his shirt. Naruto's shoulders started shaking before sobs were heard. "I liked Dog..." Naruto said in a sad voice. "I didn't want her to die. Why did you have to ask that of me? Weren't we happy? Weren't we like a family?" Naruto cried even louder, pulling Cat into his sadness as well. Guilt was pressing on Cat's conscience, guilt for tearing their family apart through a simple sentence. Guilt for making the one person precious to him above else cry. Guilt for causing the death of a good person and guilt for not feeling truly responsible for it.

The shaking frame in his arms slowly quieted as time passed. "Cat..." Naruto croaked out in a small voice. "Cat, I never said you would die without pain, did I?" He asked in a calm voice, pushing himself off of Cat so he could see into his eyes. Cat was met by the still burning red eye, but something was off. The blue eye seemed to be as intense as the red one. Slowly, slowly Cat realised Naruto hadn't been clutching his shirt and wasn't just pushing him backwards so he could look up at Cat, no, Naruto was sinking his claw-like nails into Cat's chest, digging a hole into his skin as blood poured out the wound. The pain settled in his every nerve. Pain far worse than just the wound should be able to give. "What did I say again? Cats should be drowned. Let's see if I can get you to drown in your own blood..." Naruto hissed, his lithe fingers penetrating deep into the chest cavity, stirring the inside and damaging the tissue.

Cat was frozen. He couldn't move. He was sitting back on his feet and all he could do was watch Naruto slowly raise his hand, clutching a kunai. He placed the tip on Cat's sternum, right at the point he knew the trachea would split towards both lungs and ever so slowly pushed it in deeper and deeper. Naruto looked up at Cat to see fear like never before shown on his face. Again he tilted his head, watching Cat's expression as he started twisting the kunai, damaging the tissue even more as he did so.

Cat was choking on the pain, he couldn't even scream. His breaths came in uneven pants, but at least he was still able to breath. Indescribable panic filled him at the thought of not being able to breath. His heart was racing like it knew his blood wouldn't be carrying the much needed oxygen for too much longer.

Naruto stopped. The kunai was nearing the point where it would puncture the trachea and a wicked smile played on his face. "Don't worry, Cat. I'll make sure you won't bleed out or lose consciousness until the very end." Naruto raise a bloodied hand and stroked Cat's cheek. Under any other circumstances it would be a loving and gentle gesture, now it just smeared Cat's own blood over his cheek, marking him with the promise of suffering and pain. Naruto stared into his eyes as he once again put pressure on the kunai, letting it sink into the trachea before moving it sideways a couple of times to make sure the wound would be big and open.

Without remorse, Naruto pulled the kunai back out and then grabbed wound, squeezing the edges together so only the minimal amount of the freely flowing blood escaped through it.

It didn't take long for Cat to start choking and coughing. At first only a few coughs, but even those coated his mouth in blood. With each passing second, his lungs filled more and more as he bled out into his own lungs. Cat clutched at Naruto, managing to grab his shoulder, staring with pleading eyes at the boy he cared so much for. He was only met with cold fascination. The grin was still there, that grin he had learned to fear over the last years, but never to this extent. "Does it hurt? Do you want it to stop?" Naruto hissed. "Dog didn't want to die either. She also asked me to stop. I didn't. I won't."

Cat felt tears run down his face. This was his fault. Everything bad that had happened to himself, to Dog and to Naruto, it was always his fault. He didn't deserve to live. He deserved this pain, but the fear, the ever present fear of losing everything, made him want to fight. "Stop." Cat sputtered out, followed by a coughing fit that left Naruto covered in crimson drops. Cat felt his hands shaking as he placed his other hand on Naruto's other shoulder, clutching them both. "Please..." He was begging, shamelessly begging for this to stop. For the pain to be over, for the feeling of his lungs filling up to disappear.

For a second, Naruto's eyes seemed to mellow out and Cat felt the pressure Naruto had held on the wound lessen. It only took a second for Cat to realise the true cruelty of what Naruto did. His wound started bleeding, draining some of the blood from his lungs, but not all of it, and definitely not fast enough to give him respite from this all. Instead, new fear flared when he saw Naruto take out Shinobi wire from his pouch. With a few quick stitches, the wound was closed, letting just a little trickle of blood seep out. After that, Naruto pushed Cat back, so he was with his back against the wall, sitting on his butt. Cat moved his shaking hands to the wound in his chest, desperately trying to undo the stitched, but he was stopped. Naruto had stepped forwards and was crouched in between Cat's legs. He grabbed Cat's hands and gently pulled them away. Still that damned grin decorated Naruto's face as he pulled the rapidly weakening hands away from the wound.

Cat coughed again, his mouth, lips and chin were completely coated and more blood was added with every ragged breath he took. He was beginning to lose consciousness. Every desperate breath seemed to provide his body with less and less oxygen, making his heart beating faster and faster, but only accomplishing a more suffocating feeling.

The pain was still burning through his every nerve, but it seemed to be getting more and more distant. He saw Naruto, but he seemed to blur out more and more. He felt his heartbeat, but it seemed to grow slower and slower. He struggled for breath, but that seemed to become more and more shallow. He felt lightheaded and cold. The panic he felt before seemed to be replaced with resignation. He tried one last time to call out to Naruto. To tell him he loved him and even forgave him, but his lungs didn't have enough air in them anymore. His body didn't have any strength anymore. Just before he lost all consciousness, he felt is body fall limp. His hands hit the floor and his legs sagged to the side. Even his head lulled forwards, denying him Naruto's face as the last image he saw in his life. His last bit of sight flickered into all consuming darkness...

Cat woke with a startle. He clawed at his throat and chest, still feeling like he was choking. The pain from his fingernails digging into his skin a sweet relief from the pain lingering in his memory. His heart was beating fast and his breathing was shallow and quick. The sickening feeling of his lungs filled with blood rushed his memory, making him cough to get rid of the feeling that crept back into his lungs, but no matter how much he coughed, he couldn't get rid on the feeling. He coughed until he threw up and even after that it took him another half an hour to regain control over himself. His shaking hands kept finding their way to his chest feeling for the wound truly wasn't there.

He calmed down enough to truly realise he was still in the living room, laying in the floor. Frantically he looked himself over, but he found nothing. No wound, no damaged clothing, no red stains, nothing. Had it been a nightmare? But it felt so real, way too real to be a dream.

Then something dawned on his. A quick image of Naruto in the window. He had stood up for Naruto, to greet him at the door. Cat snapped his head towards the window, but didn't see anyone. He quickly looked around the room, but once again he didn't see anyone.

A new flare of panic washed over him when he heard the front door open and close, but he relaxed slightly when he recognised the footsteps as belonging to Dog. Dog stepped into the living room and gasped. "What happened, are you alright?" She hurried over and Cat watched Naruto walk in after her. His eyes seemed normal, for as far as they could be.

The grin was there and he watched Naruto raise a hand and hold a finger to his mouth, hushing him. "I, uhm, I woke up feeling really sick." A shiver ran down his spine, knowing at was Naruto that had pushed the scene into his mind so seamlessly. Cat averted his eyes, also trying to avoid catching Dog's eyes.

Dog placed a hand on his forehead. "You don't feel warm. Maybe you should go to bed." She said.

"Yeah... I'll... I'll clean this up and then I'll do that." He stood up on shaky legs and looked around, before moving to the kitchen to get the stuff needed to clean. He could feel Dog watch him move, but she didn't comment further. Naruto had gone, probably to his room, since Dog was still there. Trusting Dog as a guard to Naruto, Cat decided to take a walk instead of staying in the same house as Naruto. Maybe fresh air could clear his mind.


	7. Graduation

Naruto remembered his first day. His first day when people hurt him. His first day in a new family, such a bloody beginning. His first day at school, exciting and entertaining. And now, maybe, his first day as a Shinobi. All that remained were the last tests. 

He sat in his seat, an aura of unrest settled around him. One by one, he watched his classmates enter the classroom, and one by one they steered clear of him, sitting themselves as far away as possible. After all, one does not simply approach Naruto when he was excitable. Too bad for the person that was destined to sit next to him. The general consensus was pity for the Uchiha for having such bad luck.

Once every few weeks, Naruto would be absent without explanation and Sasuke was always a lot more relaxed on those days. The fact that most of them could tell the difference in attitude meant that Naruto had a lot of influence over him, even though Sasuke would never admit it.

When he walked into the classroom, he noticed Naruto's mood immediately. The fact that the entire center of the room was empty and people were grouping together to the sides talking silently, almost made him falter. Almost, but he went on without missing a step. That is, until those eyes rose up to meet his. It stopped him in his tracks, a shiver running down his spine. He never really understood it. Naruto had never directly done anything to him as far as he knew, yet the blond seemed to occupy his mind as much as his brother did, if not more. It was weird, but he liked being around Naruto, even with the constant unspoken threat that hung around him.

After a moment, Sasuke was able to break eye contact, slid his hands in his pockets and walked up to the shared desk and sat down. He ignored Naruto and since it was rare for Naruto to start up a actual conversation, Sasuke stared ahead of him to the school board.

An eery silence filled the room. Sasuke slowly realised Naruto had not stopped looking at him, even after Sasuke had broken the eye contact. It seemed that the entire class had noticed too, because the whispers had stopped and everyone was now looking at them. Be it because he dared to just sit down next to Naruto at this moment, or the fact that a small giggle had escaped the blond which he quickly covered with a hand. Naruto's eyes scanned over the room, before he leaned towards Sasuke, motioning for the raven to come close and listen to him. 

Sasuke swallowed hard and shot a look around him as well. Iruka-sensei wasn't there yet, so to avoid issues, Sasuke obliged to the request. Naruto gently placed his hand around Sasuke's ear, making Sasuke freeze in his spot. "You know, I like you. When I kill you, you won't feel any pain." The warm breath wafted over his skin, leaving it moist and uncomfortable. Naruto sat back in his seat again, the same type of gleeful giggle escaped him again, but this time he didn't cover it up. Naruto's focus had shifted away from Sasuke as he focussed on others in the room. The red gleam in his eyes made most people shift uncomfortably and avert their eyes. 

Sasuke still sat frozen, staring after Naruto. Did he threaten him? No, it didn't feel like a threat. It almost felt like a gift, a promise and somewhere deep down, Sasuke felt like he needed to thank Naruto for it. He blinked a few times and took a deep breath, realising he hadn't breathed since he leaned in closer. "Thanks... I guess..." He mumbled. Naruto perked up and looked over at Sasuke again, a big smile on his face and his eyes closed in happiness.

With Naruto's mood lightened, the whole room seemed to be able to breath again. Slowly the conversations started up again and people started to move to their assigned seats. It was when everything seemed to settle that a new disturbance arrived. This time in the form of Ino and Sakura. They were, as always, squabbling and Naruto was immediately irksome over it. They were too loud, too present and too... girly. Ino was vain and dragged Sakura into it with her. Naruto knew they spent a lot of time together despite seeming so different. It had to do with the fact that Sakura was indeed an orphan by Naruto's hand and spent a lot of time at Ino's house. They were practically raised as sisters, so despite the constant bickering, they had each others back. 

They stopped at the door, still feeling the lingering presence of Naruto's excitable state. They looked at each other and approached Sasuke, careful to avoid looking back into Naruto's penetrating stare. "Uhm, Sasuke, if you'd like, you could sit between us today. We always have a free spot, so..." Sakura started. "Yeah, it's no problem." Ino added. 

"No." The simple and short answer wasn't given by Sasuke, but by Naruto. He was glaring at the girls from the corner of his eyes. 

"I-It's Sasuke-kun's choice, not yours." Sakura said, though her voice lacked the strength she had wanted to display. 

"Is it?" He asked, turning his full attention towards them, cocking his head. "Is it really, now?" Both of them stumbled back underneath his gaze, leaving Sasuke looking nervous as he debated his answer in silence. He turned in his seat, facing Naruto head on. Naruto raised an eyebrow and waited. Sasuke locked eyes with him. "We have a seating arrangement. We can't just switch places." The answer was meant for Sakura and Ino, but it was also to show Naruto he was willing to stay near him. If Naruto liked him enough to make the disturbing promise of a painless death, he figured he must have done something to get Naruto to like him. Since Naruto was one of the stronger students in the classroom, Sasuke thought he might be able to pull himself up and become stronger himself with Naruto. 

Sasuke witnessed a flicker of both the red and blue eye, before they both seemed to settle, the red eye still more dominant, but mellowed out. Naruto nodded and sat back in his chair. He liked that answer. Sasuke gave good answers sometimes. Naruto felt elated to now have three people he felt the need to protect, even from himself. Mind you, there was no way in Hell he wasn't going to torment the raven every chance he would get, but, well, maybe he'd lighten up for a little while. 

Iruka walked into the room, making the last few stragglers go to their seats. Ino and Sakura also sat down, looking disappointed and still throwing glances towards Sasuke. Naruto stared at them, waiting for their eyes to meet. Sakura's eyes were the first to wander to his. In the glance that lasted less then a second, Naruto poured a Genjutsu into her mind, a vision of her mother holding a knife standing over a small child. There were others but they were covered in a haze of shadows and were distorted, just like the child. As one they ran after the child who ran for his life. He weaved in and out of streets, ducking when heavy or sharp objects were tossed at him. He ran and ran and they just kept following, the trail of blood making it impossible for the boy to shake off his persuers. When the child left he village, he disappeared from their sight for a second, but they found him again, crying and scared, sitting on the ground and already covering his head like he knew what was coming. The shadows closed in, her mother among them and they started hurting the child. It almost looked like her mother was leading the group, prodding them to continue and calling for justice. 

"Sakura!" Came Iruka-sensei's voice. It cut through the scene displayed and the vision blurred out of existence. Sakura was heaving for breath. She had no idea what just happened to her or how long it had taken, but to see her mother, and to see her like that, it made her sick to her stomach. Her mother hadn't been a cruel woman. She would have never hurt a child like that! Right?

Iruka-sensei walked up to her and looked at her. "Are you alright?" He asked. His brow was furrowed in worry as he looked her over to make sure she was alright. "Y-yeah, what happened?" Iruka-sensei glanced at the corner of the room, before looking back at her. "Well, it was a Genjutsu it seemed. But don't worry, whatever you saw, it wasn't real and you're safe." He assured her, but it didn't settle the feeling that what she had seen had some kind of truth to it. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and freshen up? I'll put you up for the exams as last, so you have some time to cool down. Ino, you go with her, alright?" Both girls just nodded and left the room. 

When Sakura entered the bathroom and looked into the mirror, she realised she had been crying. The traces of the tears were still wet on her face and her eyes were red. "So, what happened?" Ino asked her. Sakura didn't know what to answer, and so just shrugged and went on to wash her face with cold water.

Iruka-sensei stared Naruto down, waiting for the blond to admit he had done something, but he never did. All he got was a bright smile and silence. Again he glanced at the corner of the room, and sighed. It was very difficult to determine who cast a Genjustu, although it seemed very unlikely it was one of his students besides Naruto. Of course, that didn't take away that he had no actual prove Naruto was capable of casting an Genjutsu or that he cast this one. He guessed, for now, he'd need to trust the ANBU that was guarding Naruto that Naruto hadn't done anything inappropriate. And in the end, if Naruto passed the tests, this would be the last day with him in his class and he didn't need to think about stuff like this again. Despite everything, and knowing it wasn't fair to Naruto, Iruka still felt like Naruto was, in part, the Kyuubi and, in part, he held the boy responsible for all the deaths that had occured that faithfull night. He also knew about the incident in the woods and although it was never made public what happened, for Iruka it had always been Naruto that had caused those deaths. Still, there was nothing he could do about it except to do as the Hokage asked and train him as a Shinobi, no matter how stupid that idea seemed to him.

His musings were disrupted by Naruto getting up from his seat and walking over to his desk. Without saying a word, Naruto produced two cookies from... somewhere, and meticulously careful placed them on the desk in front of Iruka, cocking his head as though he was studying if the placement of the cookies was correct. For a second Iruke stared at the cookies, blinking and confused. "...Why are you giving me cookies?" Iruke asked, drawing out the words while eying Naruto. 

Naruto turned towards him with a big and innocent smile. "Because you saw my guard!" He said happily, seeming very satisfied with the fact that someone had. "Twice!" He added, holding up two fingers like a two year old showing how old he is. Iruka blinked again. Sometimes it was really hard to see the murderous fiend that hid behind Naruto's facade...

The exams, for as far as they were worth calling that, were quick and easy. The absolute minimum amount of skill was required in order to pass. After all, the Academy was only meant as a basis to build upon in the future, basic knowledge, basic skills, a basic idea of Shinobi life. The children would be woefully unprepared for the future when they graduated, though most of them thought they had gained great skills. Iruka understood the idea behind it, and he always prided himself in setting up his students with the best possible match to continue their growth. He also loved watching them get D-rank mission after D-rank mission and watching them slowly crumble under the tediousness before finally getting chances to work their way up. Most would be fifteen to sixteen before they would progress to Chuunin and become actual useful members of the Shinobi forces. The time underneath their Sensei could be seen as high school, a continuation of studies. 

Another year had passed, another classroom full of students were happy and excited for receiving their Hitai-ate. Even Naruto. Well, there was no doubt he would make it. Despite his weirdless, he had always aced his tests and the exams were no different. Sasuke and Sakura were also top of the class, just barely behind Naruto. 

All the students were loud, talking and laughing, discussing their plans for the near future. Naruto had made his way over to the trio of trouble, adding himself to the mix, making it more explosive. They had been little monsters, pranking the town and Shinobi in the village alike. If they had gone further then they did, they might have ended up in trouble with the law. Whether it was Shikamaru being smart enough to avoid such things, Choji being too lazy or Kiba being too just, it didn't matter. What did matter, was that Iruka was currently able to overhear their latest plan, and with each passing sentence, he felt the irritation towards them build up. It was all too tempting to retract their Hitai-ate and have them to the exams all over again in a month or so, but he couldn't do that. "We should go to the market after this. I heard there is a new merchant we can mess with!" Kiba spoke in a hushed tone, but his voice carried through the room as always.

"Yeah, he's a weapons merchant. How about it, Shikamaru?" Choji chimed in. The Nara nodded, looking at Naruto. Iruka noticed a sly look towards the corner of the room and the ANBU woman rolling her eyes. For the millionth time Iruka wondered what kind of relation there was between Naruto and his guards. Naruto nodded. "Yeah, of course. We haven't welcomed him to the neighbourhood yet." He said smiling. 

"So, any ideas?" Choji asked. 

"Well, I'm testing something. It seems to work, but I need some more targets. Might as well, right?" Naruto replied. 

"Wait, you're not gonna hurt them, right?" Kiba looked worried, but exited. 

"Nope, just a little teasing, is all. Nothing bad. Besides, you know..." Naruto hinted at something, but it was lost on Iruka. The other three nodded and smirked. Iruka narrowed his eyes, but didn't act on it. He had advised the Hokage to place Naruto under Hatake Kakashi. If there was ever a Jounin to keep Naruto in check, Kakashi would be the best fit. He also lost a lot during the Kyuubi attack and Iruka was sure Kakashi would be able to handle Naruto properly. Too bad he also had to place Sasuke and Sakura with him, but the both of them would make it through. 

Iruka felt eyes on him and he immediately snapped his head up to see a dangerous glare being pointed at him from Naruto. It made Iruka uncomfortable to say the least. It almost felt like Naruto was looking straight into his mind, picking up on the throughts Iruka had on Naruto. There was hurt in those eyes, backed up by anger. Naruto stood up and walked over to the desk. "Sensei, do you really hate me?" He asked in a small voice, seeming more like a child then ever before. Iruka couldn't counter the genuine sadness that was laced into his voice. He sighed. "Hate is a strong word, Naruto. You shouldn't say it so lightly." 

"But you're not saying that you don't?" Naruto let his head hang forward a bit as he looked up at the man. Somewhere he liked Iruka. He had never lied to Naruto, no matter what kind of truth Naruto asked about. Even now, with such a heavy question, Iruka spoke the truth. "It's complicated, Naruto. I can't explain it well. Just know that I still advised the Hokage on the best team for you and I hope everything goes as it should. I also know you try hard and for what that is worth, I acknowledge it." 

"Well, since you're honest, I guess I can't argue much." The air around Naruto seemed to have shifted again. Now, he seemed almost an adult, accepting something he can't change instead if fighting it without results. "For all it's worth to you, you have been a good teacher and I thank you for the time and effort you put into it." Iruka was taken aback by Naruto's words. They were so sincere he almost felt bad for his judgement of the boy. Naruto inclined his head and turned around, walking out of the classroom, almost like he forgot class was still in session and his friends would be in school until Iruka dismissed them in a few hours... aand they were all gone... Damnit. Naruto wasn't being sincere, he was being a distraction and it had worked. Now he was four students short on the last official day of school. This would be a nice conversation with the Hokage this afternoon....


	8. Too far Gone

Naruto met with Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji at their usual meeting place. A secluded rooftop that was easily accessable for budding Shinobi. When they saw him walk up to them, they gave him a serious look before all breaking into laughter. "Oh, my Kami, it always amazes me how easily you can get Iruka-sensei distracted!" Shikamaru said between laughs. "I thought today of all days he'd finally notice! Anyway, what are we going to do now?" All three boys looked at Naruto. Even Shikamaru had admitted that when it came to pulling pranks, nobody was as much of a genius as Naruto was. That is, when Naruto felt like it. The mischievous glint in his red eye told Shikamaru that Naruto was indeed feeling like it, which meant that the afternoon was going to be entertaining.

"How about we play with his mind?" Naruto grinned.

"How, though?" Kiba asked.

"With a little bit of magic and a lot of imagination." Naruto said, pretending to spread fairy dusk around the area, an air of sarcasm around him. "A Genjutsu, idiots." He added when they all stared at him like, well, idiots. 

"What? A Genjutsu?" Choji asked dumbfounded. The others shared a glance before looking back at Naruto. "You can do that?!" Kiba exclained, looking both excited and impressed.

"Yes, a Genjutsu, want me to try it on you first?" Naruto raised his gaze to meet Kiba's. At seeing his red eye so lively, Kiba held up his hands in defeat and backed away a bit. "Nope, I'm good." He grinned. It's not that he didn't trust Naruto, but being at the receiving end of Naruto's attention was always scary. 

"Aw, too bad. Well, let's get going!" With a flourish Naruto pointed in a random direction, not exactly sure where the new merchant had set up shop. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and set out in the right direction, mumbling 'troublesome' under his breath and pushing Naruto's extended arm in the right direction as he walked past. Naruto had heard his mumble nonetheless and retaliated by jumping on Shikamaru's back. "Carry me!" He said happily, clinging to Shikamaru like a monkey and giggling. Shikamaru sighed once again, but kept walking and Kiba and Choji followed them while laughing. They knew Naruto well enough to know the upcoming prank was going to be the best one yet.

They arrived at the shop. It was a small shop at the end of the less desirable district for shops, but the small store seemed to be quite busy. People were standing in front of the window admiring the display of a daishō, a perfectly matched pair in stunning sheaths. The katana had perfect balance, showcased by only having one support at the point of balance. The handle was wrapped tightly in red leather in perfect symetry. Gold details finished the hilt. The wakizashi handle was the same, only decorated at the end of the hilt by elegantly braided leather strips with bells at the end of it. The sheaths were matching, red leather with intricate symbols on them used in fuuinjutsu arranged in such a way they looked to be dancing over the surface. It was quite mesmerizing and it drew quite a few eyes.

The crowd made Naruto pull up his lips in disgust. Crowds had always been an issue for him and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. He didn't need the attention, so without saying a word to anyone he turned and walked away. He hoped he hadn't caught the eyes of any of the window shoppers. Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru didn't follow him. They too were drawn in by the craftsmanship of the daishō, studying it and pointing out details to each other.

He turned into the alley that would lead to the back door of the shop. He figured he might as well push on with the plan despite having lost his possé literally at the doorstep.

As quick and easy as normally opening a door, he picked the lock and silently stepped inside. Quietly he took in the room. The back room was small, as small as you would expect in such a small store. The room was used as storage, mostly thin boxes that probably contained swords of different makes. There was also a small table with a single chair. A half empty bottle of water and the leftovers of a lunch were still standing on the table. It seemed the owner had been called away from his lunch, probably in order to see to a costumer. There was also a bowl of wrapped candy, of which Naruto helped himself to a hand full, stuffing them into his pocket.

An idea popped into Naruto's head, looking at the neatly stacked boxes. Whoever was the owner evidently took pride in his stock and items. How ever would the poor owner react if all the merchandise were to, say, suddenly disappear..?

He silently snickered as he placed a Genjutsu over all the packages in the room, making them seem to disappear. It was the first time casting a Genjustu without eye contact, but he had read several books on it that Cat had brought home, so he knew the principle behind it.

As quietly as he entered the room, he made his way out. Silently he closed the door and walking back towards the front of the store. He saw that Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji were now standing a little to the side. Apparently, their curiosity was satisfied and they were now waiting for him, because they waved him down as soon as they saw him. With a skip in his step Naruto made his way over, smiling. 

"So?" Kiba prodded.

"So, what?" Naruto asked innocently.

"So, what did you do?" Kiba asked excitedly. He already knew it was going to be good. 

"Well, I went into the back room, and everything was so neat and well-organised it made me think the owner really valued his merchandise, so the next time they walk into the storage, all they'll see are empty shelves." Naruto had a happy twinkle in his blue eye as he talked. 

"Don't you need eye contact for a Genjutstu?" Shikamaru was a bit sceptical, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto nodded his head with enthousiasm. "Yup! That's what I wanted to test. Genjustu with eye contact I can do, but what about using items to cast it on? We'll see soon enough if it is as efficient as a direct Genjutstu." He grinned, leaning against the wall opposite of the store. It might not be his best work, but he still felt excited about testing a new skill. The other three relaxed with him, and they waited for something to happen. 

It didn't take long for a loud yell to be heard from the store. Angry shouts followed and people quickly left the store. It was more like they were being kicked out. The crowd dispersed quickly and the only ones left in the street were their little gang and a few people that couldn't surpress their curiousity. Then a large muscular man stepped out of the store, looking the street up and down to see if anything was out of place. He lookes furious, red faced and a vein popping on his forehead that could be seen even from across the road. 

When he didn't find anything suspisious, he turned around to go back inside, mumbling provanities and even yelling at a passerby that dared to pass too close to the store. The poor sap hadn't even known why he suddenly got yelled at by a large, red faced man. All four of them broke into laughter as the passerby scurried away, apologizing for just being there at the wrong time. They were laughing loud enough not to notice that they didn't notice the shop owner noticing them. He turned on his heels and stormed over to the boys. Since Shikamaru was with his back towards the store, it was him the owner grabbed in the collar, almost pulling him clean off his feet. 

"You boys wouldn't happen to know what happened to my stock, now would you?" He sounded calm, but his eye brow was twitching in annoyance. "N-no, sir!" Shikamaru said, while Kiba, Choji and Naruto were shaking their heads frantically. 

The man dropped Shikamaru on the ground with a sigh and glared at them. It was quite clear he didn't believe them, but since he had no proof to the contrary, he couldn't do anything. With a growl, he turned around, once again setting out to move back to his store when he noticed the Hitai-ates they had on. "What luck, you are Shinobi. That means you'll come help me fix this, right?" He didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed Shikamaru's collar again and dragged him into the store. The other three followed him, not wanting to abandon their friend in such a situation. Naruto only lingered for a second before following as well. For anyone outside the friend group, it would have looked like Naruto was debating running away, but they knew better. He had undone the Genjutsu.

The man didn't stop until he was in front of the door to the back room. "Why don't you four go in and tell me what's wrong?" The man was smirking, thinking he got them cornered, but as Shikamaru opened the door and it became evident that nothing was out of place and all the boys gave him were well practiced confused looks, he stuttered random words of confusion, pushed them aside and started frantically checking over his stock. 

"Sir, what's wrong?" Naruto asked innocently, while unwrapping a candy and popping it into his mouth. The man snapped his head up. "I-It was all gone! The shelves were empty not minutes ago! Someone took it all, I'm sure!" The man was flustered and didn't know how to make heads or tails of the situation. Not to mention he felt kind of awkward having accused the boys for something that never happened, apparently...

Naruto was chewing rather loudly on the particulairly crunchy candy, waiting and hoping the good man would notice, but alas, the man was too occupied by the sudden disappearence and reappearence of his stock that he overlooked the boys in favour of checking his stock over and over again. 

Shikamaru nudged them, motioning towards the front door and beginning to back up. "Well, I'm glad everything is alright, so... we'll leave now." Kiba said as they all backed up slowly towards the front door. They closed the door and ran for it, only stopping when they reached the entrance to the Academy. They were panting and laughing, trying to cool down enough to not look too guilty when it was time for their parents to pick them up. 

The bell rang a few minutes later and within a second, Cat appeared in front of Naruto in the standard bow an ANBU always did when appearing in front of someone. He stood up, smiling behind his mask. "Well done, Naruto, congratulations! I knew you could do it!" He said happily. Naruto smiled at him in return. "Boys, you too, well done! When are they going to announce the teams?" They looked at each other, realising they bailed before Iruka had told them. "Uhm, well..." Shikamaru started, letting himself get interrupted by the commotion of students leaving the school in masses and parents arriving to pick up their children. Kiba took advantage of the commotion to quickly ask Shino about the time and was back in a few seconds. "Tomorrow at ten." He said with a grin. 

"Good, that means we get to sleep in a little tomorrow. Ready to go home, Naruto?" Naruto shrugged and nodded, said a quick goodbye and followed Cat through the streets of Konoha to their home. Dog joined them along the way, abandoning her watch from afar for the day. 

After dinner, Naruto went to his room a little earlier than usual. From time to time he needed some actual alone time. He knew he wasn't allowed to, but on some nights he would sneak out after convincing Cat and Dog he was sleeping. He'd wander Konoha a bit and usually ended up on top of the Yondaime's head. Tonight was no different. The night sky was calm as he stared up at the stars. The streets had been empty save a few stragglers, which he skilfully avoided.

He could breath here, the cool evening air settling the turmoil that was always in his mind. He always felt like he needed to step out of the way so another part of him could be themselves, but enjoying the quiet nights was something he wholeheartedly agreed on and it made him calm down. Nobody would ever know how tiresome it was to constantly need to balanse yourself, keeping yourself centered and under control, just so you can function in society as others saw fit. So he sat on the Yondaime's head, almost as if meditating, silently enjoying himself as he was. Different, unique, complicated, but for the most part still a twelf year old trying to fit in. 

The ancient knowlegde of Kurama combined with the pure heart of Naruto made for an interesting train of thought. The give and take, the mutual respect that had found its place and the realisation there was little to no difference between them except the passing of time was mindblowing and gave a sense of peace, of not being truly alone even if there was no one else with him. 

The usual quiet night was interrupted by the scream of a woman. It was close by, closer than Naruto would have liked, because it was close enough to get him curious and after a second of doubt, he decided to go check on the woman. With skills far beyond a newly graduated Shinobi he jumped and ran through the streets. More lights turned on in the houses around him, indicating that he hadn't been the only one have to heard the scream. He was the first one to arrive, though. The first to walk into a dark alley filled with crates and boxes, obscuring the end from view. He felt nervous and excited at the same time, wondering about what he might find. Part of him hoped the woman was alright, that she had just spooked herself in the darkness of the alley, but another part wanted to find something different. 

With slow steps he made his way to the end, past the last box that obscured the view. And it... was... glorious! The part of him that loved tormenting people revelled in the image in front of him. The woman was cut open, from her throat all the way down to her lower abdomen. The organs had poured out, forming a grotesk puddle on the ground and her blood was sprayed all over the wall, like a beautiful painting telling the story of a lost love. It had been a swift and deep cut and Naruto didn't think the woman lived much longer then her scream had lasted. 

It was mesmerizing and it brought back vivid memories of the incident in the woods six years ago. Without thinking he ran his hands through the blood and held it up, watching it coat his fingers and drip down his wrist. There was something about blood that made him feel... whole. It was such an essential part of someone and to be able to take that from them, to draw that out, it was power in a most pure form. Power he, Kurama, had longed for for most of his life. To find understanding for it, even though it was only partial, within Naruto, the shunned and abused child struggling for recognition, made him feel he was a part of something. For a long time, he had missed that.

He remembered the pure power of his chakra in that moment in the woods. It tore through the people, seperating their very cells from each other as he tore them apart. For a moment, a haze of red, supported by his red and blue charka, hung in the air, before he pushed the chakra to form a barrier in the form of dust, to protect him as much as to perserve the sancuary he had made with blood. The red had rained down, covering him from head to toe. The feeling of Cat's hand caressing the barrier before pushing his whole arm in felt like he himself had been carassed and penetrated, right through his very heart and soul. It had been thrilling and exhilarating and he would never forget that feeling. 

Again he pushed his hand into the still warm blood of the woman, adding a fresh coat to his already stained hands. It shimmered in the cold light of the night. There was only one word for this. Beautiful...


	9. Nameless, faceless

He heard footsteps behind him, but ignored them in favour of staring at the blood running down his wrist. It was more than one pair of footsteps and they all stopped a little way away from him. 

"What have you done?" An ANBU with an eagle mask yelled from the small crowd. Naruto looked up and shook his head. This wasn't his fault. He hadn't done anything, but it was beautiful to him. "I didn't do this. I heard the scream and came to see." He said softly, his eyes being drawn back to the woman once again. It seemed to trigger something in the crowd. Angry yells filled the alley, startling Naruto out of his daze. 

There were more Shinobi besides the ANBU in the small crowd and soon the glint of cold steel was seen in between the people. A kunai was thrown, landing only inches away from his bare feet, making him stumble back. He slipped as the blood coated his feet and he landed in the pool of blood. The blood soaked into his clothing, making the clothing cling to his body. In this instance, Naruto was not enjoying the feel of it. He was too focussed on the intense stares filled with detest and hatred from the crowd. The crowd was slowly moving in on him, driving him into a corner. "I didn't do this!" He voiced again, this time a little louder and more forceful, but his comment fell on deaf ears. The ANBU took the lead, commanding the few Shinobi to get closer and arrest Naruto. The command to get Naruto seem to take hold, the part about arresting not so much. Instead, they all made a grab for their weapons intending to take him out for good. They stepped closer and closer to Naruto and he scrambled away, pushing himself back through the gore and blood, dirtying his clothing more and more with blood. 

Another kunai was thrown, this time aimed to harm him and if he hadn't dogded it, it would have done more than just graze his cheek. The paper thin cut on his cheek started bleeding and stinging. Panic filled him and he ran, from the blood, the crowd and the memories the angry crowd brought back. 

He fled, using fences and metal grates to work his way up to the roofs where he would have more movement freedom and less people chasing him. It took a few attempts to get on top of the buildings, his feet slipping over the surfaces from the blood that coated them, but he managed to get on the roof without anyone grabbing him. The Shinobi were close behind him. He heard them growl and and their footsteps thundering after him. 

He weaved through the buildings, in and out of alleyways he knew like the back of hand making his way home. The darkness of the night seemed to work in his favour. A lot of kunai that were thrown at him missed. The ones that did hit, didn't hit spots that would slow him down. They stung and hurt and one that embedded itself into his shoulder felt like it was digging into him further with every more he made, but it didn't stop him from moving as fast as possible.

The Shinobi chasing him were clearly more adapt to running, because Naruto was starting to feel out of breath while they were still able to yell at him at the top of their lungs. When he rounded a corner and entered his street, he ran with renewed hope. Hope for safety in his own home. Having a place to run to made everything feel so different. He was scared, yes, but at least he had somewhere to go, a safe place. 

He made it home, entering through his bedroom window and storming downstairs. Cat and Dog jumped at at the sudden commotion and Naruto went straight to Dog, hugging her and crying into her lap. "I didn't do it! Please don't let them get me. I really didn't do anything!" He was begging. He needed someone, anyone to believe him, because he already knew most people weren't going to. 

"Naruto, what happened? Why are you covered in blood? Did you get hurt?" Dog put her arms around him and kneeled down, looking him over. Naruto shook his head, still sobbing. "Oh, my Kami, did someone throw kunai at you? Why?" She carefully pulled the kunai out of his shoulder, releasing a new wave of warm blood mixing with the cold, wet blood that was already soaking him. 

Naruto was crying too much to answer and just leaned into Dog trying to find comfort. Cat kneeled next to him as well, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking up at Dog. Naruto didn't see the look they exchanged. A look of worry and of judgement. Cat opened his mouth to ask more questions, but they didn't get a chance to ask anything else. The Shinobi that were following him barged into the house after having followed Naruto through the window. Eagle led the group, standing in an offensive stance in the middle of the relatively small living room, hateful eyes focussed on Naruto. He felt the eyes burn into his back, making him cower even more into Dog's embrace. 

Dog stood up and pushed Naruto behind her. Cat stepped up too, effectively shielding Naruto from view. He felt relief in the thought they would protect him, that they were there to protect him. "Cat, Dog, I caught the boy in the act. I saw him kill a woman. We need to hand him over to the authorities, right now." 

"He said he didn't do it." Cat growled back. Naruto didn't lie to them. He never had. Why would he start now? Then again, Naruto had evidently been out past curfew and had done something to trigger anger amongst a multitude of Shinobi, one of which was Eagle, a man they had trained with since they joined themselves. Knowing what Cat and Dog did about Naruto, it wouldn't be too unimaginable that Naruto did something horrible again. 

"Just look at him. He's covered in her blood!" Naruto watched wide eyed as Dog glanced back at him. She had a look in her eyes he had never seen. Doubt. Fear. She didn't believe him. "O-Onee-san? You believe me, right? I didn't do anything wrong!" Naruto barely realised how he looked. He was covered in blood, even on his face. His hands red stained and his clothing was soaked. Someone didn't get this covered in blood by doing nothing. Dog knew this better than anyone. Shinobi knew what someone needs to do to get covered in blood and it was never pretty.

She stepped away from him. She turned around to face him and stepped back to add herself to the crowd. "O-onee-san, please..." Naruto reached after her, but got startled back when a kunai was once again thrown at him, sticking up straight in the floorboards where his foot would have been if he hadn't stepped back. He felt his hands shake as he looked into Dog's eyes. She averted her gaze and it broke his heart. Just like that she betrayed and abandoned him.

Cat shifted in his position next to him and Naruto watched in horror as even Cat seemed to move away from him. "Baka-Neko, onegai... d-don't... d-don't leave...me..." Thick tears were rolling down his face, stinging the cut in his cheek, but he ignored the little pain over the pain in his heart. Was it really this easy for them to abandon him? Was it really this easy to throw away the time they spent as a family? Where was that ever present urge from Cat to prove himself to Naruto? What had happened to the mother-like care Dog had shown him over and over again?

"Why did you do this, Naruto?" Dog asked from amidst the crowd. Her voice seemed to mix with the crowd, losing meaning for Naruto, while at the same time cutting straight through him. "I didn't." He said again, a little more force in his voice. The tremor in his hands turned into an all body shake, anger and hurt running through him. 

He just stared at the floor after that, letting it all happen. People walked up to him, grabbed him and tied him, but he didn't fight back. He was kicked, deliberately and precise, but it was only meant to get him down. Someone stopped the crowd from hurting him more, but he didn't pick up on who was stopping them. They hauled him away, taking him to the prison inside the mountain, into the deep darkness, the windowless cells with solid doors. He was dropped on the cold stone floor and then they left. They hadn't even untied him. The door closed, robbing the last light of the flickering torches away from the cell, leaving him in darkness.

It was dark, cold and empty. The silence he enjoyed so much during the night sitting atop the Yondaime's head was now suffocating and painful. The darkness was opressing and slowly crushed his already unstable mind.

He only saw the negative things now. Over and over the look in Dog's eyes forced itself to the forefront of his mind, tormenting him with what he lost so easily. Dog showing that she feared him. Cat moving away from him. Yet another crowd of unknown faces out for his blood. He had cried for what felt like hours, but he was done with that now. He had screamed until no more than a hoarse sound left his throat, but it had not made a difference. Now he sat in silence, only the sound of his breath to keep him company. Slow and controlled, in and out. A steady pace and the only thing to indicate time slipping by.

Still bound he had managed to sit up. His hands were tied behind his back, and leaning back against the wall was uncomfortable but better than remaining on his side on the hard floor. He thought about the last years. The lie he lived, blinded by false hopes and fake smiles. His life before the incident in the woods had been harsh and horrible for most of the time, but at least there were no lies in it. Now he lost his heart because he had let himself get tricked. It wasn't fair. He wanted his life back. He hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't him who killed the lady. 

He wanted to scream again, to let everybody know, but there was no one to hear him. No one to believe him, to listen to him. It was unfair. They had given him rules and he had followed them. They had given him limits and he worked within them. In all this time he had never truly transgressed the rules and limitations. Of course he had pressed against them, trying to find the true line he couldn't cross, but he had always made sure to stay within those lines. They had given him guardians, to take care of him and watch out for him... No, that wasn't right. Guards, not guardians. Prison keepers, even though the prison had no walls and even though they lived in the same house like a family. Cat and Dog were not his makeshift family, not his guardians, but just his guards. 

A coldness settled in his eyes. Decisiveness and determination along with it. If they did not want him, then he had no reason to stay. He never felt loyalty for Konoha anyway and now that the ties he thought he had were so cruelly separated, he would leave. There would be a time he'd come back, but only time would tell whether the intention of his return would be good or bad voor Konoha. 

Now all he needed was a chance to break free from this cell and the ropes that bound him. He knew that with patience his answer would come. So he sat, in the dark, focussed on the place he knew where the door should be, waiting for them to come collect him.

He also wanted, nay, needed to talk to Jiji, to see his eyes and to give him the final answer to his question. Was there anyone left in this village to actually care about him?

Time dragged on, slowly. It took longer than it should for someone to come for him. It was long past dawn. It had to be. There was no way for him to check, no natural light to reach this place, but he had been here long enough for several hours to have passed. But everything remained quiet, slowly time dragged on and on.

The coldness settled in his bones. It froze his very core, leaving nothing but fearsome hatred. Naruto felt closer to his other side then ever before. The red chakra coiling within him took more hold of him, pressing the blue down without smothering it. The red chakra coiled around the blue, caressing it and making it settle down, like a child layed to rest. He let it happen.

His balance shifted. The carefully cultivated dominant personality stepped aside for another. Darker, stronger, more dangerous. The chakra danced in his mind, finding a way out like it had done before. Like dust lingering in the light, a familiar purple hue slowly filled the room, red and blue running through it with sparks. It lit the room, illuminating the damp walls and dirty floor. The room was empty, the walls smooth. The only indication there was a door opposite him was a faint line. The room was made to contain Shinobi, giving them nothing to make a weapon out of and no possibility to find a weak point when left in darkness. 

A little to his right he saw shackles, engraved with symbols. They were attached to the wall with a heavy pin and Naruto recognised the symbols as chakra suppressors. He wondered why they hadn't put him in those shackles. Did they think the ropes binding him were enough? That was a mistake. He made the dust of chakra move, using the energy to cut through the ropes, giving him much needed freedom. 

It hurt to move his arms. After having them tied to his back for so long, his muscles strained to regain their natural position. Slowly he moved them to their normal position, biting through the pain of his bruised muscles. His wrists were sore, but already healing. The sting in his side from where he was kicked had subsided too. The cuts from the kunai were also quickly disappearing, though the deep gash in his shoulder needed more time and he felt it bleeding once more because he ripped it open when he moved his arms. 

His eyes studied the chakra, bending and shaping to his will. A distant memory was stirred awake. Red hair, fierce eyes filled with determination to keep him in place with the use of her chakra. The way the eyes mellowed out as they shifted from his giant chakra form to his infant form. From Kurama, crazed by Madara and his sickening Sharingan, to Naruto, only hours old and quietly watching the turmoil around him. Chakra chains, controlled by Uzumaki Kushina, his former keeper and his mother. It felt right, using the chains now, backed up by the enormous amount of chakra combined from both of him, all of him. 

He pulled the chakra back into himself, casting himself back into darkness, but it felt different. He felt different. With renewed patience he waited, biding his time.

Another day passed, unbeknownst to him. Tediously slow. But the new day brought something new. Footsteps echoed through the stone hallway, barely penetrating through the heavy stone door, but still loud in the otherwise silent room. Loud enough to alert the sole resident to open his eyes.

The door creaked open, the torch light that had seemed dim upon arrived now burned his eyes. A silhouette stood in the door opening, trying to get used to the darkness as he was getting used to the light.

The man stepped into the door opening. He stepped into the darkness of the cell, staring at Naruto who sat against the opposite wall. The man seemingly studied Naruto. Only Naruto's silhouette was visible to him. His head hung forward a little, his eyes looking upward directly at the man. His red eye gleamed in the darkness, seemingly penetrating right through the man. Even his blue eye was shaded by a haze of red. It was enough for a nervous energy to settle itself in the man, but he didn't show it. 

"Uzumaki Naruto." The man stated in a low voice, void of any emotion. If it had been anyone else it would have been a question, waiting for confirmation he had addressed the right person, but this man didn't ask questions. He extracted truths.

Lips split into a grin, showing elongated teeth in the shimmer of the torchlight. Together with the red eyes it almost made the man's blood run cold. "No." The voice answering didn't sound like a child. It was laced with demonic energy, rasping and raw. 

The man swallowed. This wasn't the child described to him. For a second he doubted he was even talking to a human, but the small frame he saw sitting against the wall was really that of a child. "The Hokage is waiting for you. Follow me."


	10. Bitter Cold

After the man told him to follow, he turned around and walked away. The man seemingly didn't look back to see if he would obey. There had never been anyone to disobey him when he told them to follow, so he assumed a child would not be the first. The man wasn't wrong. It just took more time than it usually did. Naruto slowly rose from his seated position, taking his time to unwind his stiff muscles from the long sit in the cold room. He hadn't moved since he sat himself against the wall. His mind had been too busy to acknowledge the needs of his body, resulting in a stiff and sore body.

He walked out of the cell, not surprised to see a detachment of guards blocking the opposite way the man had walked. He stood there, staring at the two guards with his head cocked. They weren't ANBU. He almost felt disappointed that it wasn't deemed necessary for his guards to be ANBU. Again, he wondered why they underestimated him like this. Had they forgotten he harboured the power of the Kyuubi combined with the almost endless chakra supply of an Uzumaki? Did they not realise what that meant for his level of power?

The guards shifted underneath his gaze. It unsettled them, even though they were looking at a child. They hadn't seen the evil red glint of his eyes protruding through the darkness of the cell, but they felt it now. It was intense enough to make them want to back away. One of them swallowed and shifted his gaze down. That was enough for the boy, for lack of a better description, to crack his lips into a grin showing off his canine-like teeth.

He took a step towards the guards, watching the eyes of the one still watching him widen and take a step back. The step seemed to echo through the otherwise silent hallway and startled the second guard into looking at him again. Both raised a clutched kunai in defence, dropping into a fighting stance, but the boy didn't seem impressed at all.

"Uzumaki Naruto." A stern voice spoke from behind. He dropped his head back and turned it sideways, glaring at the man from the corner of his eyes. He grinned again as he finally got a good look at the man in the torchlight of the hallway. The man wore a black coat and had a bandana and Hitai-ate covering his head. Two diagonal scars ran across his face and he had cold black eyes.

"The man with too many i's to dot and no t's to cross, Morino Ibiki, let me answer that again. No." Morino looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected for his name to be known to the boy. He noticed a difference in the voice as the boy spoke. It had lost a lot of the demonic energy compared to when he had spoken that single word before, but the maliciousness hadn't lessened. There was more control it seemed, enough to make most people falter in their own resolve. Luckily, he prided himself in being trained in similar techniques and he was able to withstand it where the guards had failed. He also noticed the lack of ropes binding the boy. In the report they had told him he was tied, hands behind his back. Now he stood there free of restrains. He took a mental note of it, making sure that if retraining became necessary again, it would be done properly.

"Uzumaki Naruto or not, you need to follow me. Please do not disturb the guards in their duties. They are only doing their jobs." Ibiki watched the boy turn towards him, gaining all focus on him as the grin disappeared slowly. "Lead the way, torture expert-sama." The boy inclined his head, the perfect example of respect and compliance if it hadn't been for the sneering tone in his words. Morino straightened himself, towering over the boy in a proud stance before turning around and walking through the hallway.

It was the opposite way as he was brought inside, he noticed, meaning he would probably be taken to an interrogation cell to meet with the dear old Hokage. His soft-hearted part hoped his Jiji wouldn't be to be overwhelmed with his changes, but there was little that could be done to change him back.

It took a while and the hallways were as cold as the cell had been. His bare feet hitting the floor caused an eerie echo that seemed to linger a little too long in the still air. The stone floor was uncomfortable for his feet and for the first time in years, he wished he had something on his feet. Awareness of his state settled into his mind. His dirty clothing and the dried blood on his face and in hair. It made him falter in his step, brow furrowed in worry. It wasn't fair to meet with the Hokage like this. He would have no chance on an honest conversation, there would only be judgement over his current appearance.

"Morino-san, a request, if I may." His tone was slow and deliberate. "Nothing much, just a moment in the restroom to freshen up a little." Morino turned around and eyed the boy. The ANBU that had brought him in had briefed him that he was covered in blood and the alleged reason why. But for now, even this boy was innocent until proven guilty and he could understand the discomfort the boy must be in for being covered in two-day-old blood

He nodded and changed the route at the next intersection of seemingly identical hallways. The structure they were in was set up in a maze-like construction designed to throw off any prisoner hoping to escape. He led the boy into a public shower area. The only thing to indicate it was a shower room were the nuzzles visible in the ceiling. Even they were dug into the stone ceiling, making it impossible to use them as a material to craft a weapon. Morino stood by the entrance and hit a button on the outside of the room. The nuzzle sprung to life, raining icy water onto the floor. "Five minutes." He said before closing the door.

It was as dark in this room as it was in the cell, so he released a little of his chakra once again to illuminate his surroundings. He stripped his clothing, laying them flat directly under the stream and he stepped on top of them. The cold water was biting his skin making his shiver and cold to the bone, but for washing off blood, cold water was one of the better ways to do so.

After washing everything as best he could, he picked up his soaked clothing and began rubbing the fabric over each other. The friction was enough to get the larger stains out, but he knew he wouldn't get all of it out.

"One minute left." Morino called through the door. He stepped away from the streaming water onto a dryer part of the shower and started wringing his clothing as best he could. He donned them. They were cold, clammy and uncomfortable, but it did feel better than the crusty bloodied clothing. It hadn't helped in making his feet any warmer though. He pulled back the chakra as he looked at his feet, wondering if the blue colour would ever disappear again.

Morino pushed the door open without further indication that time was up. He expected the boy to still be under the relentlessly cold water or not washed at all, but instead he found him fully dressed and staring at his own feet in fascination. Morino followed the boy's gaze and felt a pang of sympathy, something he wasn't accustomed to at all, at seeing the feet blue from coldness along with the boy's fingers and lips. Then again, he never had a twelve-year-old in the T&I prison before. Maybe sympathy for a child was something normal, even in his line of work.

Morino snapped his finger at one of the guards, who quickly scurried over to him. "Fetch some dry garments and socks or something. We can't have the boy drop over from hypothermia before we have our answers." The guard gave him a confused look, but when Morino raised an eyebrow at the slow response to his order, the guard saluted and disappeared quickly.

It didn't take long for the guard to return. Morino took the clothing from the guard and offered the bundle to the boy. For a second the boy gave a curious stare and then accepted the offering with a small nod. Without shame, he shed the clammy clothing he was wearing, revealing scarred skin to the three onlookers. Morino had not expected to find traces of abuse and maybe even torture on the boy, but the scars told a different story. Some scars were faded enough to be years old, meaning pain was something he was regularly subjected to and had been for most of his life.

He felt the eyes on him, looking him up and down. Professional curiosity, they would argue. He ignored them over the feeling of warm, clean cloth covering him. He didn't care the long-sleeved, turtle-neck shirt fit him more like a dress, or that the pants needed a belt and a half, the pipes folded several times. He also didn't care that the socks, for some inexplicable reason, were yellow with pink hearts and too large. Every piece of clothing felt soft and warm and comfortable after two days of wet and dirty clothing.

He pulled up the collar of the shirt, inhaling the scent deeply with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes again, zoning in on the guard who got the clothing and gave him a smile. The clothing were definitely his personal items, worn even, probably exchanged for his uniform after arriving at work. Every human had a unique smell and he took in this musky smell with gratefulness, remembering it. The guard was caught off guard with a truly genuine smile and awkwardly smiled back, shifting in his position.

Morino cleared his throat, pulling his attention back to him. "Now that this is done, I believe the Hokage has been waiting quite long enough. Let's hurry this along, now." Morino set out followed closely by the boy. Now that he had socks on, his steps were completely silent and if it wasn't for the persistent stare Morino felt digging into his back, he would almost wonder if the boy was indeed behind him and following him.

They took several more hallways and turns, enough to make most people loose complete track of where they were. Here and there the shimmer of a Genjutsu told him that the seemingly endless corridors were less endless than they first appeared.

Morino stopped in front of a door that looked like every other door they had passed so far. Without knocking, he swung the door open to reveal the first room with actual furniture in the form of a table and a single chair. The chair was already occupied by the Hokage, who sat patiently with his hands resting on the table. The old man looked up as the door opened and looked older and more tired than ever before. The boy froze as the Hokage laid eyes on him, waiting to see any kind of reaction from the old man, but as a trained Shinobi the Hokage showed nothing that the boy could grasp onto. 

Morino ushered him inside and stepped inside himself as well. The door was closed and Morino stood himself in a corner behind the Hokage. With careful eyes he watched the boy walk to the opposite side of the table as the Hokage was sat. He placed his hands on the table and reached across to touch the Hokage's hands, sadness and concern on his face. Before his hands reached the Hokage's, the Hokage sat up straight, pulling his hands of the table.

For a moment Morino thought the boy would cry. Hurt was so clearly on his face, but only for a second. It was quickly hidden by a flash of red through both eyes. "Naruto..." The Hokage said. His voice was heavy with hidden emotions fighting to get out, but he kept control over them. He watched the boy slowly shake his head. The boy's eyes trailed down to avoid the Hokage's gaze. Morino looked on in surprise to see the demeanour of the boy so different than before but kept quiet. He was silently curious about the child that warranted the Hokage himself to visit him. 

"Kyuubi..?" The Hokage asked carefully, aware that the question might spark the wrong reaction, not only from the boy, but also for Morino. Morino tensed, as expected, letting a hand dwell on his pouch with hidden weapons.

His eyes made their way back to face the Hokage. It was hard to look at the old man, but he did anyway. He felt cornered, not knowing whether he could trust the man he trusted above all else. Because Cat and Dog had so easily stepped away from him, he feared Jiji would do the same. "More than I have been in a long time, but not completely." He said truthfully, keeping eye contact to convey that he had nothing to hide. 

"So, Naruto is still part of you? He still has control?" The Hokage's voice was almost excited, hoping against hope Naruto was still there underneath it all. 

"Naruto has never been but always will be in control. I am Naruto as much as I am Kurama. We are one. Ever since that moment, there has been no difference between us." The answer was controlled, aware and calculated. It was a side the Hokage hadn't seen often, but he understood the need to have a serious personality present for something like this. The name 'Kurama' also rang unfamiliar in his ears, but he assumed that it might be the true name of the Kyuubi. 

"Alright. I am assuming you still don't know what to call yourself, since after all these years you never came to tell me, so let's continue to the issue at hand. I need you to tell me the truth. I can only help you if you are completely truthful to me." The Hokage gave him a stern look, but it wasn't needed. He had never lied to Jiji and he wasn't going to start now. "Why did you kill that woman two nights ago?" 

Two things stuck out from that question. Number one: Two nights age. Two nights. They had left him covered in blood in a cold cell for two whole days and casually informed him about it. And number two, perhaps the more important thing to note: The question wasn't 'did you', but 'why did you'. It seemed judgement had already been made. He wasn't accused, he was convicted. "I-I didn't." He said feebly. He felt like the last bit of hope he had for the village was shattered by the question. How do you defend yourself when everyone is against you?

The Hokage sighed. He couldn't make out if the Hokage believed him or not. "This isn't the first time someone has been murdered like this in the past few years. There has never been a trace of a suspect and now you were caught red handed. Naruto, I cannot overlook this." The Hokage sounded tired and disappointed.

"But I really didn't! I did not kill that woman, or anyone, ever since you told me not to!" He said angrily. This was frustrating. He wanted to be believed, he needed to be believed by Jiji. It was his last line of sanity at this point and he didn't want to lose it in front of Jiji.

Morino stood at attention in the corner, ready to intervene after seeing the anger rising in the boy, but the Hokage waved him off. "Naruto. You were outside past curfew. You did that unseen by two ANBU whose job it is to guard you. There is no telling for us how often you escaped the attention of your guard, nor is there a way for us to know what you have done while you are unsupervised. I don't need to remind you that you are still a convicted criminal even if I gave you the freedom I did. I promise you we will investigate this and reach a fair judgement, but until then, I am taking away your privileges. Ibiki, take him away." It happened too fast. He hadn't even really processed the harsh and coldly spoken words when he felt metal clasp itself around his neck, before his hands were pulled back and clasped as well. As soon as the metal was closed, it glowed blue and he felt his strength disappearing. It drained him, making him light headed and it made it difficult to focus. He felt himself being pulled away, back out of the dimly lit room and away from his last ally. 

"Please, Jiji, I really didn't do anything wrong! Please, you need to believe me!" It was a desperate plead while he struggled against the bindings and the strong grip on his shoulder, but he needed something, anything to hold on to. He fought to keep his eyes focussed on the old man, who had stood up and turned his full attention to the boy. 

A small nod, small enough for him to question whether it was actually seen by Naruto, was all he could give the boy he was still so fond of. "You still escaped the supervision of you guards and at the very least I need to act on that." The Hokage emphasized the word 'need', and for a fraction of a second, he saw something dawn in the eyes of the boy. After that, Naruto let himself be taken away easily and the Hokage could only hope Naruto picked up on his veiled message.


	11. Never Ending

He followed Morino back to the cell he had been kept in before. Or at least, he thought it was the same cell. It felt like an equally long walk, but the world kept blurring out of focus and he felt like he was dragging his feet, slowing down the process of returning to the cell. It wasn't that he was reluctant, well not more than expected, but his energy was gone, and moving and focussing was hard. Morino didn't push, or rather pull him by the chain around his neck to hurry but seemed to want to give him the time he needed. The small walk left him heaving for breath and it left him feeling vulnerable and weak.

His mind felt heavy. The usual debate that seemed to be ever going had grinded to a halt, not allowing him to process what had just happen nor the consequences of it. The only thing that was clear and kept repeating in his mind over and over again was the small nod and the emphasized 'need' from the Hokage. It had meant everything to him. It made it easier, at least for now, to comply and obey. Somewhere deep within him he still distrusted everyone at the moment, but hope blossomed a little stronger, giving him something to hold on to in this very dark time.

The heavy stone door was opened and revealed exactly the same as before. Cold and impersonal, lacking any and all forms of humanly possible comforts. He stopped at the door, apprehensive for going back into the darkness. Morino gently pulled the boy inside by the chain, almost pitying him as he saw the exhausted stumble, but proceeded to do his job anyway. He unhooked the chain, only to replace it with the shackles attached to the wall. He also released the shackles keeping the boy's hands behind his back, allowing him more movement freedom than most prisoners got. A point of luxury, even if it was just this, was all he could give right now.

The shackles attached to the neckband glowed in the dimly lit room, before settling in steely coldness again. Morino watched the last of the boy's strength get sapped away and sink to the cold stone floor, nothing to catch him or soften his fall and Morino made no effort to make the situation any more comfortable. Instead, he averted his eyes, turning around and walking out of the cell. The door closed with a definitive thud, casting the boy back into darkness. It was one of the first and only times Morino Ibiki felt like he didn't like his job.

It was dark when he opened his eyes again. Dark and silent. Hard and cold. There was nothing here except his own mind to keep him company and as soon as he had woken up, he wished to be asleep again. At least in his dreams he saw something, even though it were nightmares he saw at the moment. The darkness was crushing him. The little hope he pulled out of the comment from the Hokage was dimming down with each passing moment. Endlessly time dragged on as scenarios of every possible outcome came to mind. The best were amazing, the worst literally induced nightmares and every one in between seemed to never have the outcome he wished for.

The shackles left him drained of charka and of energy. They were only long enough to walk a few steps and it seemed to get shorter every time he stood and walked to stretch his legs. Over time he also felt like the band around his neck was shrinking, cutting off more and more of his breath. It wasn't real, but the darkness had started seeping into his mind and suffocated him. His mind ran with it, making the situation worse than it really was. The confinement made him claustrophobic. 

Over time problems arose, very serious and very physical problems. Nobody had come to his cell yet, and in the first two days nobody had visited either. Back than he had been able to scurry to the other end of the cell, but now he was restricted by the length of the shackles. The stone floor also didn't absorb anything, meaning he was sitting not ten feet away from his own waste. Not haven been given food or drink in the time he had been here, including the first two days, meant he didn't produce much, but what he did produce was concentrated and the smell was enough to make the little hunger he had built up disappear. It hurt, though, the hunger and the thirst, but he ignored it. It wasn't the first time he had been so hungry, but it had been six years. The memories of that time just added fuel to his already messed up mind.

Time and time again he wondered if he had been forgotten, cast aside now that he was too much of an effort, but the demon within reminded him that he was a precious weapon, if nothing else. He was a trump cart, a power play in the politics of current day society. That left the question whether this was meant as a form of torture, a way to break his mind. Well, joke's on them, his mind couldn't be broken any further than it already was. He chuckled in the darkness, only getting silence in return. The damn cell wouldn't even give him an echo.

Boredom settled in, making everything worse. It amazed him that something so simple as being bored could make this worse. Wasn't it already a silent Hell? Did it really need to be worse? Restless energy made him want to move, but he didn't have enough movement freedom to do so. There was nothing to focus on in the cell, so he found his own way to focus on something. He began running his fingertips up and down the wall he sat against with his back. He dragged his nails up and down, feeling the rough structure of the wall scrape his skin. The feeling became soothing, the repeated motion became familiar and addictive. Up, down, again, again. Slowly, the wall carved with his persistent motion, along with his nails. The grooves that formed in the wall behind him fitted his fingers perfectly. His nails became more pointed and sharper with every stroke. It was a way of fidgeting, of coping, at least for now.

The silence was finally broken in the same way it was before. Footsteps echoing in the hallway beyond the stone door. Footsteps that made his heart jump in the hopes of finally seeing something other than darkness. Every step seemed to take an eternity as he waited excitedly for whatever was coming. It didn't matter anymore what it was, anything was welcome now. 

The footsteps stopped and two voices conversed at the other side of the door. So close, and yet so far. He let himself fall into silence, using all his focus on the conversation on the other side, but he couldn't make out the words. They were too muffled by the thick stone, but he did make out one of the voices had an angry tone in it. A slightly familiar voice. The other voice stuttered in what he could only imagine being excuses for something he had done, or not done.

All the sudden, the door was pushed open. The light from the torch burned his eyes even worse than the first time and he averted his face to stop it from burning. "God damn it, Asahi, what the Hell were you thinking?" Morino pushed the other man standing in the door opening aside and walked into the cell. Morino didn't waste any time to undo the shackled that led to Naruto's neck and lifted him up. In the state Naruto was in, he didn't have the energy to process that Morino took him out of the cell. It just felt warm and safe for the moment. "Clean this cell out, konoyarou, then come report to me!" Morino snapped over his shoulder as he walked away.

Asahi stood there for a second, sighed and went to do as he was told. When he stepped into the cell and saw the deep carvings stained red with blood in the wall where the boy had been seated, his mind was made up that he had acted the right way. When he heard he was the assigned guard to take care of Naruto, a plan had seeped into his mind. He had shared the plan with a few like-minded friends and then executed it. He had hoped to starve the demon during his stay. As long as no one ffond out, it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, he was found out and now he had to answer to Morino for what he had done. It was enough to make him fear for his life. 

Morino carried Naruto though the endless hallways to a sort of medical room. It had the same stone walls and stone doors, but there were a few metal stretchers in the room. There were also a few small cabinets on wheels, locked tightly and set away from the stretchers. The same type of shackles were also attached to the stretches and he feared Morino would place them on him again. The small rest he got in the time he was carried here had made him able to clear his mind. For however little it was, it was a relief to be able to think at least a little. 

He was placed on the cold metal of one of the stretchers, but Morino made no effort in placing the shackles on him again. He sighed in relief and when Morino took a step back, giving him some space, he curled onto his side and just wanted to go to sleep. Before he could, he felt hands on him. With weary eyes he focussed on the owner of the hands, a man in a white coat holding a needle attached to some kind of tube. He recognized it as an I.V. and just let the doctor do his work, letting himself sink into a blissfull sleep.

Waking up in the light of the medical room was such a stark contrast to the cell, he wondered if it was just another nightmare waiting to make a turn for the worst when he opened his eyes. He sat up with half-lidded eyes and let his eyes wander around. The doctor sat in a corner, writing in a file and Morino had left. 

He shifted, noticing a sheet pooling in his lap and realising that for the first time since getting here, he wasn't actually feeling cold. The rustling of the sheets had gained the attention of the doctor, who turned around and smiled at him. "You're awake. Good." The doctor stood up and walked to the door. He talked to someone just outside the door, before closing it again and smiling at him once again. "Just wait for a while." He said kindly, before turning back to the work at hand.

Minutes dragged by but compared to the last days it was only a moment. The doctor hadn't said anything else and Naruto hadn't either. He enjoyed the warmth and relative comfort of the moment. 

The door opened, revealing Cat stepping inside, his eyes shifting anywhere but to Naruto as he shuffled into the room. If Naruto hadn't still been restrained by the collar around his neck, he would have forced a Genjutstu into Cat's mind that would have actually killed him. Instead, he needed to settle for glaring so fiercely at the man, it actually made him stumble back. It was enough to get the doctor to look up and at seeing the situation, he chuckled, picked up his clipboard and walked out the room. "Good luck, kitten." He said with a wink, slapping a hand on Cat's shoulder as he walked passed. Cat just smiled back awkwardly and then let his eyes wander back to Naruto. 

"Uhm..." He started. Naruto ignored him, turning his back to him and laying back down on his side. "I'm sorry. I should have been here earlier, but I couldn't get permission. I've spent the last days begging to see you, but they all refused to listen. I ended up going to the Hokage just to force the issue, so... here I am?" Cat rattled, trying to right his wrong, but he didn't get a reaction in return. 

Letting go of all caution, Cat walked over to the stretcher and kneeled in front of Naruto. "Listen to me, and listen carefully, because this is a complicated matter and I've only been given a few minutes. There are people that are trying to destroy you. You know this better than anyone. Even if you had been seen just walking in the neighbourhood of that alley at roughly the time of the murder, they would have made you a suspect. It doesn't matter that you are innocent, because you are, I know that, but they want you gone. We are trying our hardest to get this sorted, but you need to know that at this moment, we need to avoid any and all indication of a positive relationship towards you. If they get their way, everything we bring in as evidence will be thrown out, but if we show we are impartial towards you, they will have no grounds to do that with. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Cat sought eye contact while he spoke. He felt dread at seeing Naruto like he was now. His features more animalistic and the definite weightless made his stomach hurt. It wasn't right to see his boy like this. 

Cat couldn't stop himself from placing his hand on Naruto's cheek, swiping the strands of hair out of his face as he looked at Naruto with a pained expression. The glistening tears running down Naruto's face didn't make him feel any better about what he had done. "We knew they were planning something, and we knew we needed to act partial to them when the time came for them to make their move, but we never had time to inform you. I stopped them from beating you up after they tied you, but even that I have had to explain away. I know I hurt you. That was a horrible moment and I hate having done that to you, but you need to believe me now. The Hokage and I have spent every moment working to get you free." Cat was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Shit, I need to go. Just... Just hang in there, okay? We're working on it. Alright? Please?" Cat stood up and walked away. 

"How long?" Naruto asked, sitting up and looking at Cat

" What?" 

"How long have I been here?" Naruto clarified.

"Six days. You've been here six days." Cat looked upset for this. "Listen, I heard from Morino. The guard that was assigned to you is now in a cell of his own. Morino will personally take care of you from here on out. It'll be a little better." Another knock made him look up at the door again. "I need to go. I'm sorry." Cat walked out of the room after that, not looking back once. 

The six days had been hell. Just darkness, hunger and thirst. The only interruption a quick interview with the Hokage and now this fleeting visit from Cat. But the amount of information made determination blossom within him once again. Maybe he wasn't as abandoned as he thought he was and by the sound of it, Morino was an ally in this as well, or at least impartial in this all, meaning he'd treat Naruto fairly.

The doctor walked in after Cat left, a happy sparkle in his eyes. He sat himself down again at the desk and once again picked up his work. For a short moment Naruto wondered what kind of work the doctor could have in this otherwise empty medical room, but the thought was driven from his mind as Morino entered. 

Morino beckoned, and Naruto stood up, ready to follow, but he did keep a strong grip on the sheet he had been sleeping under, hoping against hope he might get to take it with him. He looked at Morino with begging eyes, reverting back to his childish self, big eyes and an almost pout. Morino sighed and just turned around. What Morino didn't see, but the doctor did, was the big smile that appeared on Naruto's face for getting this little gift. The doctor smiled back as Naruto left the room.

It was back to the cell, but this time Morino didn't hook him to the shackles and the cell had been cleaned out. Naruto stepped into the cell, hugging the sheets to his chest and turned around to look at Morino. Morino looked back at him and then closed the door, casting Naruto once again into darkness. The whole exchange, from the moment Morino had come to collect him to the moment the cell door closed was done without a word, but not without meaning. 

He sat back against the wall again and counted his blessings. One: clean clothing. Two: a blanket. Three: A clean cell and no shackles. Four: Cat and the Hokage believed him. Five: Morino seemed to have a weak spot for him. And six... He grinned into the darkness and held up his hand. After a moment of nothing, a small amound of chakra focussed into his palm, lighting his face and casting a dancing shadow behind him in the room. Six: They were still underestimating him. 

Maybe he had more power in his current position than first met the eye.


	12. Earned Privilages

Morino stood with his arms crossed in the corner of the room, silently watching as one of his agents, Hisato, was trying to extract information out of an Ame Shinobi. The man had tried to infiltrate Konoha and would have succeeded if it wasn't for one of the new ANBU catching him in the act. Uchiha Sasuke had turned into one fine Shinobi in the four years after graduating. He was now high in the ranks and if he didn't love the fieldwork as much as he did, he would have been a personal guard to the fifth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi.

The Ame nin was yet to scream, despite the methods used to persuade him. It was quite gastly, actually, there wasn't an inch of skin left untouched and he was definitely mentally bruised as well, but it seemed not to bother the man all that much. They hadn't even gotten his name yet.

In front of Morino and a little to the right stood one seriously bored blond adolescent, absentmindedly fidgeting with the collar around his neck and staring ahead of him. The sharp nails scratching over the metal surface was enough to get one's hair to rise. He hadn't focussed on anything in the room yet, but Morino was damned to let that trick him. He knew better than to think anything went past the blond. That became all too clear when the Ame nin got enough rest before the next attempt to let his eyes wander around the room. They locked onto Naruto. It seemed that eyes always wandered naturally to Naruto and as soon as his eyes met Naruto's, the man chuckled. "I thought my village was messed up, but a kid in a torture department? And a prisoner at that! That's really messed up." His voice was raspy and mocking and he seemed to want to continue, but Naruto had locked eyes with him. The purely evil glint in the red eye made the man choke on the rest of his words while coughing up blood. The way Naruto hand twitched, clasping the collar around his neck, and the muscles in his back tensed was a tell-tale sign he had found something interesting to him. "Toy?" He chirped, sounding a lot younger than he actually was. In the four years he's been locked up, the constant darkness had stunted his growth, but just a little. His skin was pale and he always seemed to have wide eyes, adapted to better see in the darkness. Despite it all, he didn't look unhealthy and his physical appearance, lean muscles and sharp eyes, gave away that he was well trained.

Morino leaned forwards, placing his right arm on Naruto's right shoulder and his face next to Naruto's left ear, keeping his eyes on the Ame nin.

Naruto just shivered in excitement knowing what was coming. He all but kept himself from jumping up and down, waiting for Morino to speak. "Do you want to play, Naru?" At hearing those words Hisato dropped what he was doing and scurried out of the room; he did not want to be here if Naruto was going to be involved. It was necessary, because the nin refused to talk, but really, it was too cruel to watch for him. 

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, keeping his eyes fixated on the Ame nin that lay completely restrained on the metal plate. "Alright, give me a second." Morino padded Naruto's shoulder, walked around him and to the Ame nin. With professional precision, he quickly undid the buckles keeping the Ame nin strapped down and turned back to Naruto. "Don't go and kill him, now. Just get him willing to talk. Knock on the door when you're done."

He didn't get an answer from the blond, who stood there licking his lips and grinning like a maniac with his eyes still on his new target. "Naruto." Morino snapped his fingers to get his attention. Naruto snapped his eyes to Morino, the grin switching to a smile and his blue eye shining brightly. "Yes, Papa?" Morino sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told you not to call me that." He looked back at Naruto, pointing a finger at the boy. "No killing!" With that, he turned around and left the cell. The door closed behind him with a heavy thud.

The Ame nin watched Naruto sit down on the ground, still staring at him. It was unsettling the way the boy's eyes glided across his skin, taking in every detail. He sat up struggling against the pain from his bruised muscles and cut skin. It wasn't surprising when several wounds started bleeding again, staining what remained of his clothing in a new layer of red. "What's up with you, anyway, kid? If you're also a prisoner, why are you so lovy-dovy with that bastard?" His voice was raw and rasping and he tasted the distinct flavour of metal as he spoke. Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes to let the pain settle again.

When he opened his eyes again, he was met with odd eyes not five centimeters away from his face. His eyes widened, but otherwise the Ame nin didn't show his surprise. He hadn't heard any movement and he knew his hearing was quite keen. Maybe the torture had affected his hearing? It wasn't uncommon to mess with senses as a form of torture, but if they had, they hadn't done a very good job with it.

Seeing the eyes so close up, he could almost see the turmoil going on side the blond's head as the red and blue flickered, seemingly fighting for dominance. "Morino-san is nice. I like him." Naruto said smiling. The Ame nin noticed the elongated teeth, white and well taken care off and very sharp looking. It made the kid even more nerve wracking to look at.

With ease Naruto slammed the Ame nin back onto the metal plate, before jumping up himself, planting his feet next to the Ame nin's hips crouching down and placing a clawed hand on his chest. The force knocked the breath out of the Ame nin, leaving him gasping for a few seconds. "He gives me toys and presents." There was childish happiness in Naruto's voice as he spoke.

Naruto sat down on the Ame nin, letting his full weight press down on the man's abdomen and using his legs to pin the Ame nin's arms down. He leaned in close. "You're unlucky, though, because you see, Morino-san said no killing and to get you to talk. Do you have any idea what kind of things I can do to you without you dying or losing the ability to talk?" He cocked his head as he talked, his voice completely void of emotions as if he just summed up some facts. He held one of his clawed fingers dangerously close to the Ame nin's eyes, watching the man's eyes widen ever so slightly in fear. Naruto grinned once again as he pressed his pointy nail into the right eyeball, right through the pupil so the Ame nin would see as much as feel what he was doing.

There wasn't so much as a grunt out of the man. "Tsk, boring." Naruto pulled his hand back, releasing a flood of mixed liquids to drip out of the eye. The clear liquid inside the eye mixed with blood leaked out and left a trail on his cheek.

Naruto sat back in thought, trying to think of ways to get the man to scream. "You can do whatever you like, rat, but I'm never going to talk!" The Ame nin grunted, tugging his shoulders in an attempt to free his arms.

"Ah, well, here's the thing." Naruto purred, winking as he spoke. "There is no real reason for me to stop. I don't need you to talk. All I want is to entertain myself. There is no end goal, nothing you could say or do would stop me. There is nothing you can do to gain any kind of control over this. All you are right now is a chew toy, and all I want to do with my toys is break them." He spoke in a soft voice, letting the words sink in and watching a little despair settle in the Ame nin's eyes.

"You can't. They told you to get me to talk. You can't kill me!" He hissed back.

Naruto smiled and leaned in close again. "You don't need eyes to talk. Or arms. Or legs. Or about half of you organs, most of your skin..." He ran his nail over the Ame nin's cheek, leaving a shallow cut behind. "Your genitals... Mental stability also isn't necessary, I'm living proof of that. Oh, there is so much I can do to you before you lose the ability to speak and, really, do you think Morino-san will care if you end up a mutilated mess?" He looked the Ami nin dead in his remaining eye and with a red flash in his own, Naruto disappeared.

The Ame nin looked around bewildered. There wasn't a trace of the blond and the room seemed different. More empty. Silent, until a small scratchy sound interrupted the silence. It sounded close and made an uncomfortable feeling settle in the Ame nin's stomach. The feeling just seemed to grow more intense and when it started to itch and feel like it moved, the Ame nin looked down to see his skin crawl. Something was crawling underneath his skin and as he watched, he saw more and more movement. It started hurting, burning and scratching and digging deeper and deeper into him.

He moved his hands over his skin, desperately trying to stop the movement, but all it did was chase it movement elsewhere. He couldn't stop a pained and fearful grunt from escaping him as it burrowed deeper into him, shredding through everything as it went. He was being eaten from the inside out. All that they left was just enough for him to survive, to stay conscious through it all.

It spread, down to his toes and into his fingers. They crawled up his neck, leaving nothing but bruises and pain in their wake. His throat felt constricted by the sheer amount of them pushing their way up. He clawed at his neck, desperate to release the pressure, but unable to touch them. He scratched his skin open, fingers digging deep and coated in blood.

He turned around, letting himself fall off the table and landing on his hands and knees. The pressure made him retch, but all that came out was blood from his injured insides.

Something ripped through his head. He heard it rip, even over the skittering of whatever was moving around inside him. His good eye blurred with tears as he let out a pained scream. Every part of him, all the tissue that made him, it was torn apart. He placed his arms around his head and screamed again when they tore into his brain. The world blurred and he blinked his eye in an attempt to clear it again. His damaged eye started filling and as he was leaning forward, small black carrion beetles started to fall out, skittering away across the floor until they were hidden in the shadows of the corners.

A dam seemed to break, and all the pressure build up in his body seemed to force its way out of his eye. He fell to his side, unable to breath or move and feeling the beetles that were once underneath his skin now run over it.

A set of bare feet appeared in front of him and Naruto crouched down, cocking his head to look the Ame nin in the eye. "Did that hurt?" He asked with a soft smile. The Ame nin stared back at him, opening his mouth in an attempt to speak, only to realise his lungs weren't filling with oxygen. No matter how much he heaved his chest, using all the strength he had left, air wasn't entering his lungs.

He gasped, again and again, grasping onto the blond and begging with his eye for this to stop. He didn't want to die like this. This was a useless death without any meaning. Dying to protect the secrets of his leader was one thing, dying just to entertain a deranged teen was something entirely different.

"Huh, I guess I went a little too far. Morino-san would be angry with me if I left you like this. Thank Kami it's only your own imagination doing this." Naruto placed his hand on the Ame nin's head and flushed it with chakra. The next moment, the Ame nin heaved for breath as he sat up, the sweet oxygen filling his lungs once again. He was seated on the table and looked around bewildered. He let his hands run over his body, feeling for any signs of injuries, but the only injury he found was his gouged eye and the remains of the torture.

Naruto stood at the end of the table, staring at him with red eyes. The Ame nin looked at him, fear evident on his face. "Wha...what did you do..?" Naruto smiled the most evil of smiles. "I can see your fears. I can bring them to life. Over and over and over again, until nothing is left but that fear." 

With a red flash, everything happened again, quicker and more intense. Every possible thought the Ame nin had seemed to seep into the nightmare, making them worse with each time the blond teen started them again.

With the next red flash, the Ame nin made his way to the door as quickly as possible and started banging on it, hoping to be relieved of his waking nightmare by returning to good old fashioned torture. He screamed as he banged on the door and Naruto walked up next to him. He also started banging on the door and yelling for the guards, making the Ame nin falter in his movement. He stumbled away from the blond, who once again grinned at him. "Sorry, they can't hear us." Naruto slowly dissolved into smoke as the pressure build up in the Ame nin once again. He didn't hold back anymore. He screamed and writhed on the floor, desperately hoping for this to end only for it to begin from the start once again.

The door opened after five minutes. For the Ame nin it had been endless hours. Morino looked up from his place across the hall and watched as Naruto cheerfully walked up to him, be it a little out of breath. He ruffled Naruto's hair. "Had fun, kid?" He asked and received a happy nod as an answer. "Alright. Stay here, I need to finish up."

Naruto sat down on the floor watching Morino walk into the room. The Ame nin sat in the corner, rocking back and forth, incoherently mumbling about beetles inside him. Morino cleared his throat and the Ame nin looked up. Desperate relief showed on his face as he practically crawled to Morino, muttering and begging to get a chance to tell them everything as long as they kept the bugs away.

Morino smirked, glancing back at Naruto, who already was preoccupied again by a blank stare and fidgeting with his collar. He wondered what the hell went on in the mind of the blond sometimes, but as Naruto's eyes rose to meet his and Naruto attained a small, but affectionate smile, he couldn't help but be reminded of his younger brother and he smiled back. There was still good in the boy, despite it being broken over and over again by adults. 

Hisato stood next to Naruto with his arms crossed. The room was soundproof, because if the rooms weren't the screams would get really annoying, so he didn't know what happened in the room. "I don't even want to know what you did." He said, looking down at Naruto. Like Morino, he had a smirk on his face, more impressed that anything. When Naruto didn't answer he sighed. "Unless you would want to tell me, of course. Maybe teach me?" 

Naruto glanced up through his lashes before looking ahead of himself again. "It's not hard, but I don't think you can. Genjutstu, but different, making fear real. Nobody is without fear. I can see it, the core of fear in everyone. It looks a lot like hatred. Almost the same colour." He clenched his hands around the collar, feeling his nails scrape his skin without cutting through the callous caused by the collar. 

Hisato sat down next to him, intrigued. "Do you like it? Scaring people that is?"

"Do you like hurting them?" Naruto threw back. Hisato didn't answer, not trusting if he could answer honestly and Naruto didn't say anything anymore either. A few minutes passed in silence, only disrupted by the scraping sound of Naruto's nails. 

"How do you see fear?" Hisato wondered out loud, not really expecting an answer. Not even aware he spoke his thought out loud, but he got an answer anyway. "Demons see more than humans can." The tone of voice startled Hisato. It was so cold and distant he wasn't even sure it was Naruto who had said it. Usually the boy sounded happy, or at least filled with emotion. This was spoken void of any emotion.

"I don't think you are a demon." Hisato said. He didn't know much about Naruto's situation, just that the boy had been there for a long time and that Morino practically saw him as a little brother. Despite Naruto's appearance and abilities, he still saw Naruto as a nice kid. Maybe a bit naively so. 

Naruto looked at him in surprise and after a second of staring, he started laughing so hard he startled Hisato, again. It was a little contagious, though, and after a while Hisato found himself laughing almost as hard as Naruto was. 

That is how Morino found them. He sighed and called for attention. "Hisato, take him to a cell. Yamanaka-san has been called to collect the information. Naruto, we are going for a walk. Outside." 

Naruto stared up at him with the biggest eyes, the blue one shining brighter than it had done in quite some time. "Really?" He asked, jumping up and practically glomping Morino, looking up at him with sparkling eyes. It was a very rare treat indeed, for Morino to take Naruto outside of the facility. Usually it would be in the dead of night and only because Morino said he saw some kind of sadness in Naruto for some reason. Naruto didn't really understand that, but took the chance to go outside nonetheless. 

"Yes. I need to speak to the Hokage and you need to be there as well. Get ready. You look a bit grimy." Naruto huffed at that last remark. It wasn't like he had much control over when he got clean clothing or a chance to wash up, but with a quick smile he disappeared into the hallways, making his way to the shower room. Morino followed a few paces behind.


	13. Old Friends

The prospect, along with the cold shower and a set of fresh clothing, a set that didn't look as prisoner-y as normal, had Naruto excited, rushing back and forth and practically running circles around Morino, trying to get the old man to hurry it up. Not that he knew what route they needed to take; he hadn't been down the hallways that led outside for quite some time and the times Morino did take him the hallways were too similar to remember where to go.

He had learned the trick by now, though, and even Morino didn't really know about it. Despite the collar, Naruto had learned to channel his chakra as though the collar wasn't even there. Morino knew this. Well, it did still suppress great deal, but he had learned to work around it. And because of this, he had picked up the same trick as the agents used to navigate around the place. The secret lay in the way the Genjustu of the place shimmered in some areas. At first it looked like a weak spot in the Genjutsu, but there were different patterns and colours to them, and Naruto was memorizing those patterns and where they seemed to lead. He did that while hyperactively running around and buzzing around Morino like an annoying fly. Luckily, Morino was completely used to Naruto's endless energy and shrugged it off.

They crossed paths with a familiar blond-haired man, flanked by a blonde-haired girl that looked a lot like the man, but younger. When Naruto saw them, he let himself fall silent and he somewhat hid behind Morino, keeping his hands together in front of him and his eyes down. Technically he wasn't supposed to be free of his cuffs and there was a silent agreement between Morino and Naruto that he would act accordingly when he ran into someone from outside the department.

Inoichi Yamanaka greeted Morino as their paths crossed and they stopped to exchange pleasantries and information. "Morino-san, how are you doing?"

"Quite well actually, but the issue you've been called in for is pressing. I am on my way to the Hokage to discuss it." The girl was looking around. It seemed to be her first time here. Naruto was staring at her, ignoring the conversation as it went on. He knew her... Ino, a girl from school. The moment she looked at him, he turned his face away, taking a step forward so he would be hidden behind Morino. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to be recognised. His head also suddenly felt a little foggy, like a headache was about to start, but didn't hurt yet.

She craned her neck, leaning over to see the boy hiding behind such a scary man. Naruto grabbed his collar again, letting his nails scratch over the surface in a rhythmic fashion. It was amazing he hadn't ever been able to claw through them with how often he did this, but the collar had always held firm. It was almost reassuring to him in some way. Something that didn't break despite his best efforts. Now it provided adequate distraction from the prying eyes.

Ino didn't notice or didn't acknowledge his distress and just kept gazing at him and stepping closer. Naruto felt cornered. He had been in this darkness for such a long time that the reminder of his days in the sun was painful. More painful than he had expected them to be and Ino was too strong a reminder of that time.

Ino took a step sideways trying to get a better view and didn't leave any room for Naruto to shy away to. He watched her eyes widen in recognition through the corner of his eyes. He shuffled back for as far as that helped, grabbed the back of Morino's shirt with one hand while keeping the other on his collar. As he stepped back, he let out a tormented grunt that came out too much like a growl.

Morino turned around to look at him and Inoichi followed his lead. Three pairs of eyes were now resting on him and that was more attention than he has had in a very long while. His eyes darted between them, not knowing who to focus on. He felt crowded, like with the villagers so long ago but without the malintent towards him.

Morino looked reprimanding, probably seeing the growl as a sign of aggression and with a deep sigh and a barely contained roll of his eyes, Naruto looked to the floor showing no intent of aggression. The shift in Morino's posture told him Morino knew he hadn't meant it wrongly.

Inoichi recognized him too, but it was Ino who voiced it. "Naruto?" She almost yelled. "What are you doing here?" She stepped up to him, ready to greet an old friend. But Naruto just turned away from her and stubbornly kept staring at the ground.

"Ino, leave him be." Inoichi said and with that, Ino seemed to suddenly remember where they were exactly and the significance of the collar around his neck. She stared at him wide eyed, but when her father started moving further into the building and called for her to follow, she made a quick bow to Morino and threw Naruto a smile he didn't see before scurrying after Inoicho.

A few moments of silence passed before Morino sighed. "I didn't expect you to shy away, Naruto." He said and started moving in the opposite direction of Ino and Inoichi. Naruto just grunted in defeat and followed. "So, why?" Morino inquired.

Naruto remained silent for another moment before answering. "She... was a friend?" Naruto said, wondering if she had actually been a friend, but he knew her and now she saw him as a criminal, probably. He wasn't. Well, technically he was, but not like that. "I guess I don't want them to think badly of me. My old friends, that is." He said in a small voice.

"That's unexpected. I would have thought you'd be more blue about seeing her."

"Blue?" Naruto asked, cocking his head.

"Yes, blue. Your happy go lucky hyperactive childish side. The colour of your eyes is linked to how you act... Well, I suppose you don't know that because you never see your own eyes, do you?" Morino turned to him as he asked the question and as he looked at Naruto his eyes slightly widened. "Ooh, that's surprising. You are blue." Morino chuckled. "I guess even you can grow up, even if it is just a little."

"What's that supposed to mean, you old fart?" Naruto yelled at Morino while flailing his arms.

Morino laughed, petting Naruto on the head. "It means what I said. You seem to have less changes then when you got here. You've grown up a bit these last four years. It suits you."

Naruto huffed, crossed his arms and looked away, but couldn't help the slight blush on his face. It was nice to get a compliment. There weren't a lot of those in a place like this.

"Come on, let's go."

Naruto took a step to follow Morino when his head started hurting a little. Naruto placed a hand on his head and closed his eyes. He breathed out slowly and carefully and stumbled half a step back. The pressure was something he never felt before, but it was bearable, so he shrugged it off. He opened his eyes to see Morino looking at him intently, watching for anything out of the ordinary, as always. At least for as far as ordinary was possible when it came to Naruto.

"Ne, Morino-san. If you could pick and choose the personality to suit a situation the most, wouldn't you do that too?" Naruto's voice sounded distant, distracted.

Morino look back at him. Naruto was staring off in space and clasping his collar again. Did Naruto use his different sides like others used the versatility of skills and weapons; whatever was most suited? That was an interesting concept. Morino nodded at that. Using what you have and can to your advantage was something every Shinobi would do. Naruto just had more to choose from.

Whatever just happened inside Naruto's head, it seemed to fade along with the pressure. His face broke into the all too familiar smile and blue-eyed twinkle. "Is it going to be day-time when we go outside? I'd really like to see the sun again!" He was hopping from one leg to the other, excitedly looking at Morino.

Morino hadn't seen Naruto like that before. It almost looked like one side of him had mixed with another, but that smile just made Morino wonder if something really happened. It had been just a short moment and Naruto clutching his head wasn't really uncommon. Shying away and ignoring something out of the ordinary was something uncommon, though. Not to mention caring about how others reacted to him. That had never seemed an issue to Naruto until they met Ino. Well, Morino assumed it held some nostalgia to Naruto, maybe. It wouldn't be weird to want to keep a certain image up with old friends. "It'll be early morning." Said Morino, walking on again.

As they neared the doors that led outside, more and more torches decorated the walls. They were there to let people get used to light before walking out into the daylight, but even the mild torch light was almost too much for Naruto. It was hurting his eyes and he squinted against the light.

They turned another corner and the torched were replaced by actual lights. They were much brighter than the torches, and Naruto stopped when the light hit him. He held an arm in front of his eyes and turned his face away. Morino saw Naruto flinch back and quickly walked over. Without a word, he produced a bandage and wrapped it once around Naruto's eyes, tying it at the back. It was essentially improvised sunglasses and took the sharp edge away from the light. It was enough for Naruto not to need to shield his eyes anymore.

When he was able to focus on his surroundings again, he found himself in a kind of reception room. Inmates were checked in here. There was no check-out counter, though. The hall was high, high enough to be intimidated and make you feel small underneath the seemingly endless arches that supported the ceiling. The ceiling was cloaked in darkness, too high for the lights of the lamps to reach it. The cold stone used throughout the room accentuated the inhospitality of the room. Iron bars and seals designed to keep people from escaping were littered all around the place. If someone would even step somewhere that wasn't allowed, the seals would activate and burn the victim.

"There is one thing before we go outside. You need your cuffs." Morino informed him. Naruto sighed. He knew from his previous trips and the cuffs were an added barrier for his chakra use. He didn't like being limited like that. It took away... possibilities.

"You know the drill. Back against the wall over there." Morino said, pointing at a wall laced with intricately drawn seals. Naruto sighed again. The cuffs he was getting was specially designed for inmates leaving the building and connected to the assigned guard. Stray away too far and the inmate gets, well, burned. They are not very imaginative about punishment with seals. Probably because these were mass-producible by most Shinobi.

With another sigh Naruto placed his back against the wall, Morino standing next to him. The cuffs were placed on his wrists followed by a sharp, but short pain through his spine as Morino poured chakra in the linking seal. He hissed at it but didn't respond further. Morinio had once told him most men scream out and fall to their knees, and that he thought it was amazing Naruto had such a controlled reaction to it. Naruto, however, didn't think the pain was that bad compared to other pain he had felt in his life.

As soon as the link was complete, Naruto was back to cheerfully jumping and running around, trying to get Morino to the door quicker. It reminded Morino of dangling a leash in front of a dog and watching it getting excited over going outside. He chuckled, greeted the guards and led Naruto outside.

Thanks to the lights and the bandage, the early morning light didn't feel too bad for Naruto. The sun just barely peeked over the horizon. There was a little fog hanging in the air and a few birds could be seen flying about. There were only a few clouds, near the horizon in a soft pinkish hue. Naruto stopped for a second, taking a deep breath and filling his lungs with the clean air. He loved this. Breathing and the free feeling it gave him. It was probably was he missed most about being outside. There was nothing else to really miss for him. People were cruel to him anyway, so in a way staying inside was good too. At least the people in there recognized him as a human and even a companion to some extent, Hisato and Morino being closest to him.

They walked through the early morning chill. There were only a handful of people walking around and most were too preoccupied to notice the unusual duo making their way through the streets. "Did I ever tell you that Sarutobi-sama has appointed a new Hokage?" Morino asked.

Naruto, walking next to him looked at him with wide eyes. "Did he retire?" He'd be sad if he didn't get to see Jiji.

"No, he still does duties as a Hokage, but the fifth Hokage has been chosen a few months ago, Hatake Kakashi. Over the next couple of years, Hatake-sama will be taking over more and more duties until Sarutobi-sama can retire. Our audience will be with both of them." Morino informed him.

"Haa~, what's this about anyway, dragging me along and all?" Naruto asked, attempting to place his hands behind his head, but failing due to the cuffs. He dropped his hands in front of him again and glared at the horrible cold metal on his wrists.

"The Ame nin provided some information and it has to do with you. Since you haven't met the new Hokage yet and he needs to make a decision about your future, I thought it only fair he got to meet you before he does. Sarutobi-sama agreed with this but didn't want the meeting to be in the department. That's why I'm taking you there." Morino watched for Naruto's reaction from the corners of his eyes but kept a steady face himself.

Naruto let out a short laugh. It amazed him that despite everything there were people that genuinely cared for him. It made it difficult sometimes to hold a grudge, but remembering the stares, harsh words and abuse from his early years, the grudge was quickly settled back in his heart. Still, it was nice. Urgh, he was going soft. "I guess I will put effort into being most presentable before our new Hokage-sama. It seems first impressions will be important. What information does Lord Fifth have on me?" He said stiffly. He saw Morino turn to him more, looking at his face or more specifically his eyes. Both were dull, but not empty. Emotions were blazing behind those eyes but didn't reach his face.

"I imagine that Sarutobi-sama has told him what he needs to know." The rest of the way was silent. They reached the Hokage tower and entered, Morino greeting the guards and Naruto following silently, taking off the cloth covering his eyes as they walked inside.

Morino knocked on the door to the Hokage's office and waited for a reply. Naruto went back to grasping his collar and running his nails over it. He noticed the lady behind the desk staring at him and decided to return the favour. He turned his whole body towards the lady, making full eye contact and letting his grin spread over his face. It took only a few seconds before she shifted underneath his gaze, trying to avoid eye contact but failing as there was no real way for her to turn.

His grin turned creepier by the second. He was enjoying watching her squirm. There weren't many in the department that squirmed so easily and openly. It was fun. That was, until Morino unceremoniously punched him on the head, effectively making him end up sitting on the floor grasping his head.

"You're scaring her. Apologize." Morino said in mock anger. He was silently entertained by Naruto's antics, but he couldn't show that openly. He was the adult and guard in this case.

"Auwww, I'm sorry, Papa!" Naruto looked up at him with tearful eyes and a pout. It was almost enough to break Morino's facade. Almost... "Not to me, smartass, to her. And don't call me that!" He snapped back, one hand balled in a fist in his side and holding up a finger in warning. Naruto sweat dropped. Yeah, definitely not a father type...

Naruro looked back at the lady behind the desk, giving her the most innocent big smile he could muster. "I'm sorry, Nee-chan!" She just blinked, letting the silence fill the room until an ANBU opened the door to the Hokage's office asking them to enter.


	14. Another beginning

A young man with black hair, dressed in ABNU attire and a raven mask stood in the door opening. For a few seconds he just looked Morino and Naruto up and down, clearly assessing the situation as he found it. Naruto jumped up and grinned at the man, but he only received a cold glare of the deep black eyes behind the masks.

The man stepped aside and motioned them to enter. When Naruto made no indication of moving, Morino practically pushed Naruto through the door, keeping a firm hand on Naruto's neck.

The room they entered had a grim atmosphere. Both Hokage were sat behind the desk with their backs to the window. The raven haired ANBU took his place beside the Fifth Hokage dutifully. A man with long white hair and red clothing, an older woman with blond hair and green clothing were standing a little to the side to let the new arrivals take the place directly in front of the desk. A pink haired girl stood on the other side of them. All had a concerned expression on their face and all of them were staring right at Naruto.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the sight and proceeded to ignore the room instead going back to his lifelong habit of clawing at his collar.

Morino bowed to the Hokage, and when he noticed that Naruto didn't, he pushed Naruto into a bow. Not that Naruto was unwilling or resisting or anything. It was more a lack of learned social skills, but really, he could blame him for that? Morino was well aware, having raised the boy for four years, but even before that social etiquette wasn't something that was taught to him.

When Morino let go of Naruto again, they all watched his attention immediately wander through the room, seemingly never focussed on anything.

The first to break the silence in the room was Sarutobi. "Naruto. You seem well." There was a slight quiver in his voice. Happiness and sadness merged into one at seeing the boy he once set out to protect, but failed to in his own mind.

"I am not unwell." Naruto responded. He was still looking around, slowly turning around as he did so.

"That's... good." Sarutobi said with a furrowed brow. Somewhere he had expected Naruto to be a little more like he remembered, unstable but happy to see him. The room once again filled with an awkward silence.

"Ahum. Let's start with the business at hand." This time it was Kakashi who spoke, glancing at the papers in front of him. He sorted through them quickly, making sure all the information he needed was within range. "The Ame nin we caught in the village had some interesting information the happenings around Amegakure. It seems that there is movement against other nations in search of the different Jinchuuriki. They have been gathering them under the organisation named Akatsuki. Since there hasn't been any real sign of our Jinchuuriki for at least four years, the Am nin was sent here in order to find information about our Jinchuuriki. It seemed that is was presumed we either lost our Bijū after Uzumaki Kushina died, or that we have done and exceptional job at hiding our current Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto." Another silence filled the room. Most eyes were trained on Naruto again, watching for any kind of reaction from the blond, but he seemed to have found something rather interesting in the corner of the room, judging from the way he was staring into the corner with a slight smile.

He snapped out of his stare and faster than most could follow he was on Morino's back, leaning on Morino's shoulders with his hands and his arms straight. His legs clung underneath Morino's armpits and he was looking down, both eyes blazing, but the red one more prominent.

People around the room snapped to attention at the sudden movement, readying themselves in case the prisoner was going to act out. Even the fifth Hokage had stood up from his seat, hand hovering over his pouch and his eye in a dangerous glare.

Morino, however, casually looked up and raised an eyebrow, not at all surprised to suddenly have the weight of a 16-year-old on his shoulder, since it wasn't that uncommon for Naruto to get physical.

"Why didn't you tell me Cat was here?" Naruto asked, a slightly hurt but also an amused tone in his voice. He didn't get to see Cat that often and he hadn't seen Dog since she walked away from him at home. Cat had told him she was one of the people who had truly turned against him, siding with the counsel. He had been very upset over this for a while, but then decided to focus on those loyal to him instead of those who were against him.

"I don't think Cat is here, Naruto. He's not one of the Hokage's guards." Morino answered carefully.

Naruto cocked his head. "Huh, I guess you don't know, then..." He stared Morino dead in the eyes for a second. "Well, at least you didn't lie, Torture expert-sama." Naruto pushed himself further, summersaulting over Morino and ending up sitting criss-legged facing the Hokage table in one smooth motion. Another silence filled the room in which people stepped down, the relaxed attitude of Morino letting them know there was no threat from Naruto, but all of them surprised and puzzled at the random behaviour. All except Morino and Sarutobi.

Kakashi slowly sat down again and looked at Sarutobi. The old man also hadn't responded alarmed and sat there with a nostalgic smile on his lips. It was good to see Naruto still as energetic and happy as he always was.

"So, Jiji, why am I here?" A sudden wave of seriousness washed over Naruto as he looked at Sarutobi.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Like I just said, people are after you since you are the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. This involves you."

Naruto turned his attention to Kakashi, cocking his head like he was looking at something weird and distasteful. "I figured that out the moment you mentioned me by name, believe it or not. What I meant is, if I have been hidden for the past four years to the extent of becoming unknown by being kept in the department, why dig me up and bring me to light now? Why not let me remain hidden?"

"You may have been hidden, but you're not without trace. We cannot overlook the possibility that there are more infiltrators working their way in. We keep records of the criminals in our hold." Kakashi threw back with a slight glare.

Naruto answered the glare with one of his own. "I'm sure you do."

"Naruto, we want to assess how strong you are and see if we can use your strength to help resolve this issue. You'd be placed in a team consisting of Raven and Sakura." Sarutobi said, first pointing at the ANBU with the raven mask and then the pink-haired girl. "Jiraya and Tsunade will be your assessors for this."

The glare Naruto was giving Kakashi disappeared within a second, replaced by a happy expression aimed towards Sarutobi. "A team with Sasuke and Sakura-chan? Why them?" He asked curiously.

Sakura quickly looked at Sasuke. How had she not realised that the ANBU was Sasuke? Moreover, how did Naruto know it was him?

"How did you know?" Sasuke still stood in pretty much the same manner with his arms crossed in front of him. There wasn't any curiosity in his voice, or any emotion, but if Naruto had to name one, it would have been surprise.

Naruto looked back, grinning as he did so. "You smell nice." Was all he said, before turning his attention back to the Hokage table.

Kakashi decided to ignore the little interruption and ignore the fact that one of his ABNU's identities had been this easily guessed and continued the meeting. Instead, he brought up a sensitive issue. "I understand you know him, Sarutobi-sensei, but how could we as Hokage allow a criminal to walk out of containment? The last time he was allowed freedom he ended up murdering a woman. Multiple, if we go by the M.O."

"Wait, he murdered someone?" Sakura asked, taking a step back and looking at Naruto with fear. The room seemed to drop in temperature at that.

"I have not killed anyone since the incident in the woods. I did not kill that that woman." Naruto growled, his voice deep and dark and a dangerous aura around him.

"I can verify that. I 've worked with Naruto for four years now and I can honestly say that I am convinced he didn't do this. Yamanaka-san will be able to confirm this as well. Not to mention that I believe lord Third also believes in Naruto's innocence." Morino added, staring Kakashi down as much as Kakashi was staring at Naruto. Naruto seemed to mellow out when hearing the support from Morino, though, making the room a little lighter again.

"That doesn't change the fact that he is responsible for the massacre in the woods ten years ago. He is still a murderer, a criminal, even if it is less recent." Kakashi said. He couldn't just trust a criminal like that. There was no way the boy hadn't been involved in those murders from what he heard from people and Kakashi wasn't sure setting the boy free would end up as a good thing for Konoha.

Sakura took another step back, pulling her hands up to her chest. "Ten years ago? Is he the one who killed my mother? And you want to not only set him free, but also have him on the same team as me? No! I can't! Why?" Sakura yelled. She was near tears. She had never known who the killer of her mother was and to now learn she even spent time with him as a classmate made her sick to her stomach. Even Sasuke shifted in uneasiness. Naruto had always been weird and having an ANBU guard with him everywhere he went did seem strange, but to have gone to school with a murderer was something else.

Both Tsunade and Jiraya moved to speak up as well, but they were interrupted. "Alright, enough." Sarutobi said calmly. "There has been extensive research into the responsibility and liability of what happened that day ten years ago. I have personally seen the scene and I know why everything that happened, happened. That is one of the reasons why I allowed Naruto the freedom he had until the age of twelve. The murders around four years ago were not committed by Naruto, as the conclusion of the T&I department clearly states. Naruto was kept there, because he broke a different rule and I had no option but to comply by the ruling of the counsel, but that was merely a broken curfew." He stopped and took a deep breath, turning his attention to Sakura. "I understand it is difficult, but both you and Sasuke, in combination with Jiraya and Tsunade are the best options for the mission at hand. As your Hokage I must ask you to keep your personal issues out of your cooperation. I know this is a cruel thing to ask, but the thread of the Akatsuki and Ame is too great."

Sakura just looked away. She was dutiful enough to her village and Hokage to comply, but that didn't mean she liked it and it definitely didn't mean she was going to be friendly or forgiving towards Naruto.

She remembered the disturbing vision she had on the day they graduated. The images still haunted her dreams, but now the images were getting a different meaning. She was now able to add a face to the blurry images, specifically the face of the tormented boy. It had been Naruto. She was struggling to see the lie in the images; she could only see them as true no matter how much she pondered over them. Her mother had been cruel to the boy. A vision like that wasn't fabricated. There were too many details that were correct, like the clothing her mother had been wearing and the make and model of the kitchen knife in her mother's hand. She remembered being surprised at the fact that her mother hadn't been home when she came down for some water. Her mother had never left her alone without telling, so the fact that her mother had done so that night put more doubts about her mother into her mind. Still, it was her mother. She loved her mother with everything she had, and her mother had been cruelly torn away from her. She would not forget, and she would not forgive easily.

The others left her to her musings, the emotions on her face a clear sign she needed to process the information given to her. Even Naruto seemed to pick up on it, surprising most in the room and making Morino feel proud at Naruto's mature behaviour.

After the words from lord Third, most people on the room had decided to follow his words and not question the decision to give Naruto his freedom any further. The more technical part of the meeting was now discussed, and since it was more focussed on Morino and the administration needed to have Naruto leave the department, Naruto leaned back against Morino's legs and closed his eyes. He felt Sasuke staring at him and the others stealing glances at him but ignored them.

The conversation went on for almost half an hour and all of it was on how to get him out without getting involved with the counsel. Decisions were made and work-arounds were created, but Naruto had nothing to say in any of it even if he had wanted to, so he continues to relax.

"Hey, Papa, I'm hungry..." Naruto suddenly said, stopping the whole discussion. He was looking up at Morino with begging eyes and to drive his point home, his stomach growled.

Morino sighed in exasperation. "Will you stop calling me that already?" He said while rummaging through his pockets. He pulled out a meal bar and dropped it into Naruto's hands.

Naruto looked at the bar. "Yes! Chocolate. Thank you, Papa!" Naruto was happy and bubbly as he spoke, wrestling with the package to open it. As he did, he moved in a little dance, celebrating his treat in the most childish matter. Childish, but innocent and cute.

Morino pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and letting out a tired grunt. "Ignore this. Please continue, Hokage-sama." He said turning his attention back to Kakashi.

"Where was I?" Kakashi looked down at the filled in files to see where they were and if anything was missing.

"The part where you sign for the removal of the collar and the cuffs". Surprisingly, or maybe not at this point, it wasn't Morino but Naruto that pointed that out, proving once again to Morino that nothing went past the blond, no matter how relaxed, distracted and unaware he seemed to be.

"Right, yes. Sarutobi-sensei. I think this is something you should do." A stack papers thick enough to be nightmare inducing for any Kage was shifted from Kakashi's side of the desk to Sarutobi's. Sarutobi glared slightly at Kakashi, silently cursing the laziness of the one-eyes man, but not really having a good reason to refuse it either. In the long run it would even be better if Sarutobi signed. Should the counsel work against them, the worst they could do was to remove him from his function as Hokage, but since Kakashi would be free to choose his counsel afterwards, it might even shift the balance even more in their favour.

With renewed vigour he started to sign the forms, that of course all came in three-fold, and with the practised ease of a true Kage works his way through it in one go. Still, it took him more than a few minutes and the room was filled with and awkward silence that was only interrupted by the sounds of the wrapper from the bar and rather penetrating sound of chewing in contrast to the silence.

"Just a few more... aand... done." Three piled of filled out paperwork were now neatly stacked in front of Sarutobi. One stack for the administration of the Hokage, one for the administration of the T&I department and the last one for the counsel. They had chosen the most lengthy and complicated forms for this in the hopes that the counsel would only glance through it before filing it away.

Morino stepped around Naruto and picked up his stack. "Well, Naruto, it seems you are a free to go. Let's get back to remove your collar and cuffs."

Naruto slowly stood up and stretched lazily, popping his back and shoulder in the process. "No need, Morino-san." Naruto moved his hands into a few sighs and with a short flare, the cuffs began to glow, popping open and falling to the floor. He then did the same to the collar. Naruto ran his hands over the callous skin on his neck, tentatively feeling it for the first time again in four years.

"What?" He asked when he noticed everyone staring at him.

"How did you do that?" Morino asked flabbergasted.

Naruto looked puzzled himself, but soon realised Morino was asking about the removal of the cuffs and collar. Oh, that. I've seen you do it and I remembered how." He said simply.

"Then why haven't you removed them before?" It was Sasuke to ask this. He would never admit it, but he knew how complicated the removal of the cuffs and collar was, so he was impressed Naruto had been able to do it so easily.

"Because I wasn't allowed to." Naruto said in the same tone as before, like it was glaringly obvious and very simple. He picked up the cuffs and collar and handed them to Morino. "So, where will I live now?" He asked, looking around the room to see who would respond.


	15. New Lodgings

"You'll be living with me." Sasuke said stiffly.

Naruto looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Now that was interesting. Going by Sasuke's personality and the tone in his voice, it hadn't been his choice nor did he like the idea at all. That did bring up another point. He had spent four years in custody of someone that actually wanted to be his guardian, so Naruto felt a little confused over the choice of having him life with someone his own age. "Why not with Cat? I'd like to go home. You miss me too, don't you, Cat?" Naruto asked, looking into the same corner as before.

Sarutobi sighed. "You might as well show yourself, Cat." He said. There was some blurred movement in the corner before a fully dresses ANBU complete with a full set of weaponry appeared in the corner and went on to glomp Naruto, hugging the living daylight out of the boy and gushing over him. Naruto answered the affection equally enthusiastically and several minutes were spent just being happy with each other. Cat was perhaps something akin to a possible father at some point to him, maybe. Or an older brother. That would be a good way to describe it too. At least Naruto knew Cat would always be there for him and that made him care for Cat a lot.

"ANBU Raven was chosen because he is one of the stronger ANBU in the ranks right now. He also has enough room to host not just you, but also Jiraya and Tsunade. They will be your guardians until you are proven trustworthy." Kakashi said in a finite tone. That explained where the idea had come from. Kakashi must have thought that up. Naruto sighed. This was going to take a lot more time than he'd like to gain the trust of most people in the room. "Hai, Hokage-sama." Naruto said with a respectful bow.

"Take a day to settle in. Tomorrow we will evaluate your strength. Meet us at the seventh training field at eight in the morning. Dismissed." Sarutobi said. There was a collective "Hai, Hokage-sama." before they all piled out of the office. Naruto was a bit sad to no longer be in Morino's care, a sentiment the sadistic but gentle giant seemed to share. They didn't do a lengthy goodbye or anything, just a pad on Naruto's shoulder and a mutual whispered well-wish, before Morino walked away, returning to his duties with just the collar and c

shackles in his hands. As Morino walked out of ear shot, Naruto let out a sad giggle. He couldn't help but have an image of Morino arriving back at the department, the collar in his hand and a lost look on his face, like he had just brought a dog to the vet to be put down and came home with only his collar.

"Sasuke-kun. Uhm, do you need me to walk with you..?" Sakura asked Sasuke. She wasn't as bashful as she had been in school. It looked like she learned to be more adult about her crush on the black-haired male and was no longer a gushing fountain of idiocracy. Naruto, always the good boy trying to find points in people to admire, had to admire the restraint and self-conscience of his new pink-haired teammate. Better to learn to enjoy the good parts about someone than to dwell and torment yourself with the points you disliked.

"Yes." The very cold answer came from Sasuke. It gave Naruto the impression that perhaps Sasuke has had less of a growth in personality that Sakura, and that perhaps his same weak spots still applied.

"I know it's part of the mission, but can't I have until tomorrow so I can sort myself out? He's getting that much. It would only be fair." She said, pointing at Naruto. Naruto adjusted his previous vision. Now, instead of having his dog put down, Morino lost custody of his son to a entitled ex...

"No, we do the mission as ordered." Sasuke said in the same cold voice. "Follow me." All four of them followed Sasuke through the streets of Konoha. Now that it was later in the day there were a lot more people about, but unlike before his stay at the department, not a lot of people recognised him as the demon child. In fact, they seemed more curious about who could end up with such a powerful escort, including two of the Sanin. Eyes were on him like always, but without malice. It was more admiration born from being unknown and surrounded by famous people. Even Sakura got a fair share of attention and it seemed that much like Sasuke, she had made name for herself with her feats and abilities.

Jiraya and Tsunade were having a silent conversation as they followed behind the three teens. "You have to admit they almost look like a team like this." Jiraya said, apparently convinced he'd go unheard by the subject of his conversation.

"They would have been, if it wasn't for the incident." Tsunade answered, equally unaware that teens generally had better hearing than the elderly. "I would even guess that Kakashi would have been their sensei, but adding the Uchiha to Guy's team and Sakura to Kurenai's team did give a lot of possibilities for all of them. With the added diversity to both groups, all of them had the opportunity to specialise further."

"Still, I think these three would have been the strongest team in Konoha if they had been placed together." Jiraya said. "They remind me of our team, and a little of my team, you know?" He added, reminiscing his past.

"Yeah." Tsunade said. "I can see that."

A nostalgic silence fell over them and the rest of the walk was in silence. Not a lot of things had really changed in the past few years. Sure, shops had come and gone and there were a couple of new buildings here and there, but nothing truly new caught Naruto's attention. What did catch his attention was the familiar stand of Ichiraku in all it's glory. Naruto smiled as they walked past and he inhaled deeply, loving the scent that filled the air around the ramen shop. Since Sasuke didn't stop, and thus neither did the others, Naruto followed, albeit a little reluctant. He'd love to eat there soon again.

They walked through the gates into the cold and desolate area that was the Uchiha compound. If it hadn't been for Sasuke guiding them through the short streets with the ease of familiarity, they could have been walking in a ghost town. All doors and windows were closed. Even the curtains in most windows were shut, making it feel closed off and suppressed. They only building that had any sign of life was the main building where Sasuke lived. Naruto felt a sad pang for the boy who had to live in the house his parents were murdered in from the age of seven onwards. How did nobody in this village feel it was necessary to keep a child that young safe from the demons that were so definitely hunting him in the endless loneliness of the night? How did they expect a functional adult to come from such a trauma at that age with no help to work through it all? It was a miracle Sasuke didn't end up in the hands of some maniac feeding him bullshit about gaining power and getting revenge. And how was Naruto's literally shattered mind able to see the stupidity of this all, but a whole sane village didn't?

His thoughts were interrupted by Jiraya pushing him along to enter the house. It was one of the more typical Japanese houses with paper walls to divide the rooms. Sasuke led them deeper into the house, pointing out the different rooms and their uses. Naruto was appointed the bedroom next to Sasuke, with Jiraya in the room on the other side. Tsunade and Sakura were given the room across the hall from Naruto's, effectively blocking him in.

All of them just entered their rooms and stayed in them until it was around dinner time. One by one they all migrated towards the dining room, but non of them made any move to cook. Sasuke was the last to enter, raising an eyebrow at the gathering in the small room. "What are we gonna do about food?" Jiraya asked.

"I'm not cooking." Answered Sakura, huffing indignantly and throwing Naruto a sneering look. Her meaning was clear. She wasn't cooking for him. He rolled his eyes and let his hands wander to his neck. To his chagrin he didn't find something to grab and let his hands fall back on the table and his head backwards with a sigh. Old habits die hard, it seemed. "I'll do it. I need some distraction." Naruto got up and walked out of the dining room and into the adjacent kitchen. Sasuke walked in after him.

"What am I allowed to use?" Naruto asked Sasuke, figuring that is why Sasuke had followed him. Sasuke shrugged and sat down. "I'll tell you when you do something wrong."

"Tsk, teme." First thing he did was go through every single cupboard to see the supplies he had to work with. It all looked pretty normal and there was enough to feed five people for several days, so Sasuke must have had time to prepare. There was, however, an abnormal amount of tomatoes stocked, which Naruto skillfully avoided due to not really liking them.

An hour later a simple meal of stir-fried vegetables and rice and a side of grilled meat was set out on the table. Sakura didn't eat as she struggled with herself and her feelings. Tsunade gave her a sympathetic look, but didn't comment. Naruto set out to make it a personal goal to cook every single meal from here on out just to see how long she'd last without food. He grinned as the idea popped into his head, staring straight at Sakura with his red eye glinting.

She stared back, her face showing her uneasiness, but for the most past she held her ground. It wasn't that interesting, so Naruto got up and went to his bedroom.

Footsteps followed after him, but he ignored them. He sat down on his bed, turning around to face the sliding door and found Sasuke standing there. Sasuke was slightly glaring at him. "Stop that." He snapped.

"What?" Naruto asked, an air of pure innocents around him.

"I don't know what kind of liberties you got at the department, but here you will follow my rules. You are still a criminal under my supervision. To add to that, you are a guest at my house. Do not harm anyone here, do not get on anyones nerves while you're here, and do not think you can pull tricks like you used to at school while you are here. The Third Hokage might be lenient, but I will not be. Every step you take will be reported directly to Kakashi-sama, so mind your step." With that, Sasuke turned around, shut the door and walked away, leaving a slightly stunned Naruto behind. Shinobi training must have beaten the slight submissiveness out of Sasuke over the last years. Guess it was time to poke and probe until it bubbled to the surface again. Hearts are the best toys there are, anyway. It didn't matter if they were outside the body, or still protected and beating in the inside.

It was an early morning rise for Naruto. Being woken up by a rising sun was something he hadn't experienced in four years, so even the earliest rays creeping into his room were enough to wake him. He diligently went about making breakfast, neglecting to check the actual time. Needless to say, the food was well and truly cold by the time the first resident made her way into the kitchen, but she sat down gracefully, thanking a brightly smiling and happy looking Naruto for the effort of cooking. Tsunade was soon followed by the rest, and non of them pulled up their nose for the meal, though Sakura again didn't eat. 

"Let's make our way to the training ground, so we can do some warm-ups." Jiraya said, ushering them all out of the dining room without giving anyone a chance to clean up. After gathering the equipment the group made its way to the training grounds. It took only a short wait before both Hokage arrived. Morino was there also, along with a fair number of Jounin and ANBU that were curious about what was happening. 

Naruto plopped down at the first flat piece of sand he found that was in the area they'd have their test in and ran his fingers through the sand. He felt eyes on him, that were rolled before looking away again, disregarding him and his actions. Until he proved himself, he was no threat in the eyes of most of the collecting people. The eternal stigma of being underestimated still followed him to this day. Only Morino took the time to walk over and take a peek at what he was doing. At seeing it, he chuckled, clasped Naruto on the shoulder and told him to go easy on the old people. Naruto just grinned at his, mischief shining bright in both eyes.

For one last time he pushed his fingers into the dirt, leaving the faintest glow, before he jumped up and ran haphazardly across the field until he spotted the next pristine piece of flattened sand and did the same thing again. He did so sitting flat on arse, legs straight forward and slightly apart as he drew in the sand. A child playing in the sand.

Naruto had been able to work on three more patches of sand when Sarutobi called them to attention. Naruto hopped to stand up, placing his feet next to each other and holding his hands out to the side. He straightened, extending his hands further, then twisted on the spot and happily ran over to Sarutobi. "I made drawings in the sand!" He said with childish pride and a happy smile on his face that reached his eyes.

Sarutobi smiled back at him. "Really? Did you have fun?" He asked and received an enthusiastic nod from Naruto. "Do you know why we are here?" Sarutobi asked.

"Of course! To fight the old people!" There were two growls and a lot of suppressed sniggers behind him and Sarutobi sweat dropped at the remark. Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Yes, pretty much. your first match will be with Sasuke, to test your Taijutsu. Now, get ready."

Naruto took his spot opposite of Sasuke, Kakashi standing between them as referee. The area around them settled into an anticipating silence for seeing a high ranking ANBU's fighting skill as Kakashi raised his hand. "Ready?" Kakashi quickly glanced between and swiped his hand down. "Start!"

Both didn't move, but just stared at the other. It dragged on a few minutes until Naruto broke the stand-down with a full closed-eyed yawn, complete with tears in the corner of his eyes. Sasuke tsked, and went for the first move. With speed that pulled awes out of the crowd, he launched himself at Naruto, going for a full on sucker punch to the face. Naturo let his yawn change into a grin, eying Sasuke from the corner of his eyes as he let his head hang backwards. As Sasuke's fist came dangerously close, Naruto dropped to his knees, using the motion as a springboard to immediately launch himself head first into Sasuke's stomach. The hit connected, but Sasuke used the momentum to twist around, aiming a kick at Naruto's side. Naruto blocked the kick and ended up several feet away from the strength behind it. 

Sasuke took the first move again, launching himself at Naruto in a similar way, but having had a feel of his opponents abilities in strength, put more speed in this attack, jabbing quick hits at sensitive areas and forcing Naruto to keep defending without the chance to counter attack. They slowly edged their way to the edge of the clearing, Naruto backing up in order to keep enough distance to block and avoid. Sasuke took the opportunity of Naruto not knowing the layout of the field very well and the fact that Naruto didn't get a chance to keep monitoring his surroundings to guide his back into a tree. 

A small shift in Naruto's eyes, from completely focussed on Sasuke to a quick look at the ground, told Sasuke Naruto might be more aware then he had given him credit for. Moreover, even in the fraction of the second Naruto's attention was elsewhere, Naruto didn't miss blocking any of the jabs Sasuke threw at him. At noticing this, Sasuke jumped back, creating space for himself to observe his opponent further with wary eyes. A gasp ran through the crowd, one of not understanding why Sasuke would back up if he was so clearly overpowering Naruto. 

Sasuke settled himself into his stance again, readying himself, but this time not taking the first move. He watched as Naruto dusted himself off and stretch himself, before he too dropped into a stance. Sasuke smirked, happy his opponent decided to take the mock battle at least a little serious, but his smirk faltered when he saw the look on Naruto's face.

The stance was strange. Naruto had one of his hands on the ground in front of him, his fingers clawing into the dirt. His legs were slightly apart, but completely stretched, standing on his toes and digging them in like his fingers. He had his eyes locked with Sasuke's. The red glint in them would have been enough to send most adults running for the hills, but it was the full-on grin displaying dangerously sharp teeth that left Sasuke unnerved. There was no killing intent in that grin, but it definitely wasn't innocent either. With just that look, Sasuke knew Naruto was dominating the field. And not just the battle, but also Sasuke himself. The uneasy realisation that he was just a play thing to Naruto settled into his mind with such certainty Sasuke questioned himself for not having noticed it before. When Naruto set off towards him, Sasuke almost wanted to turn tail and run.


	16. Play Time!

Naruto licked his lips seeing the anxiousness building in Sasuke. He loved it, the way the emotions played over the stoic Uchiha's face. Four years and Sasuke still wasn't able to clear his face from emotion when it came to Naruto. The consistency was oddly comforting.

Naruto launched himself with incredible speed. Sasuke activated his Sharingan, but even with that he was barely able to follow the movement, leaving him no choice but to stumble back in a flinch.

Sasuke was able to block, but felt like that was more luck than skill and it terrified him. Naruto was so close in front him, the right leg stretched straight in between Sasuke's, left crouched underneath him. His right hand was extended, the sharp nails pointing at Sasuke's heart and would have hit the mark if Sasuke hadn't raised his arm in defence. Naruto kept his left hand close to his side, but Sasuke saw he kept it in a similar position to be able to use his nails as daggers, ready to strike.

"Wow, you blocked it! I've been waiting for a good toy for sooo long! I'm gonna take my time with you, Raven-sama." Naruto purred and continued to grin up at Sasuke. It took all Sasuke had not to shiver underneath the penetrating gaze and he had to fight the urge to look away. To steel himself, he pushed more chakra into his Sharingan, making it flare for a moment.

He jumped back again, hoping to gain distance and time to collect himself, but Naruto matched his movement and speed with ease. Naruto stayed low and the way he moved was unlike any fighting method Sasuke had ever seen. It reminded Sasuke of a wild animal playing with a prey, chasing it, but not quite catching it while still making it painfully clear the prey had no way of escaping. Naruto didn't attack, he just followed Sasuke's movement, cutting him off from going certain directions and kiting him around. He had no doubt Naruto was truly just playing with him, but that didn't mean he was going to just give up. For now, he was using his Sharingan to get a read on Naruto's movement.

Sasuke heard mumbling around him from the spectators. Most sounded impressed about Naruto's movement, but he also caught the occasional sneer at his own capabilities. Was Naruto kiting him within ear shot on purpose? He could not image the chaotic brain of Naruto to be able to think about the mental aspect of the battle. Not that Sasuke cared much about the opinion of others, but when he heard his own teams comments, he felt anger rise inside him. "Why is Taicho going easy on him?" "Maybe they are friends?" They were questioning his intentions to be anything but serious! A new determination settled into Sasuke. He was going to push back. He needed to anyway, because he couldn't avoid forever. 

"Hn." Sasuke stopped his movement, not even raising his hands up in defence. He just stood his grounds and would let happen whatever came. His stop was sudden, but still, Naruto matched him in even that. It would have been funny. Well, not funny, but... entertaining? To have had Naruto crash into him, but the blond didn't, so it wasn't. Instead, Naruto stopped so close to him they were almost touching. Naruto stood, halve crouched to still keep himself low, frozen in his forward motion as if Sasuke stopping had been a planned moment from the very beginning. Naruto looked up at him with a cocked head and a grin. In a split second, the grin changed to a smirk and Naruto finished him movement upwards, straightening his legs and pushing himself even closer to Sasuke. 

At the sidelines Morino gulped, drawing the attention of Kakashi and Sarutobi to him. "You know, there is only one thing more scary than a grinning Naruto, and that is a smirking one..." Morino looked at Sarutobi with a worried expression. "Hokage-sama, did you tell Naruto he isn't allowed to kill?" 

"No, this is only a spar. He knows that. Right?" Sarutobi said, but he questioned his own words at seeing Morino's expression.

"We'll step in when it's necessary." Kakashi said, his eyes back on the fight, ready to intervene when necessary. Seeing their Kage on edge also prompted most ANBU to be more wary was well. 

Sasuke saw the headbutt aimed at his face coming but stupidly he had left no other option for himself then to step back. He knew he wasn't fast enough to avoid it nor did he leave room to use his arms to block so he closed his eyes in preparation of the hit connecting, but instead of pain a different sensation landed on his face. Soft and moist, almost gentle, a light pressure on his lips. He opened his eyes to find himself eye to eye with Naruto, who had placed his lips firmly on his. Before he could really process what the hell just happened, Naruto broke the kiss, mumbled something like 'sweet' and jumped away, giggling like a mess and clamping one hand over his mouth to stifle the giggles. His eyes never left Sasuke's. They were shining with playfulness, but they were terrifying at the same time.

Sasuke just stared after him, confused and thrown off. His lips were tingling from the short contact and for some reason his breath was a little too heavy and his heart was beating a little too fast. Sasuke fought the urge to touch his lips, and instead wiped his mouth with his arm in an attempt to shake the tingling sensation. He watched Naruto skip away a little distance, still giggling and throwing glances back at Sasuke. Sasuke couldn't make out what kind of emotions Naruto was going though, but utter glee seemed be a good way to describe it. 

Sasuke snapped out of his momentary bewilderment and ran at Naruto. Naruto dropped back in his stance and waited for Sasuke to reach him. He had kissed Sasuke on impulse, but then again, what didn't he do on impulse, really? It had left a sweet taste behind, better than anything he had tasted before, and a want for more. He wanted to taste more of Sasuke. If his lips were this sweet, then what would his skin taste like, or his blood? Did that sweetness run down into Sasuke's very core? The thought alone was enough to spring forth another fit of giggles, but this one was short lived as Sasuke's knee connected to his arm as Naruto blocked a kick to his side. There was a lot of strength behind the kick, pushing Naruto back a little. It hurt. Maybe even left a bruise, but that didn't matter. His toy pushed back. He got a response beyond fear and surrender. It wasn't a one-sided thing like with most toys. This was so, so much better. Exhilarating. 

With ease he turned the momentum back on Sasuke, sending jabs upwards from his low position through the openings in Sasuke's defence. There were very few Shinobi trained to guard against attacks from below them. Not to mention that having to look down meant less awareness of the area around them, since their field of vision would be focussed towards the ground. It created a false sense of vulnerability that Naruto took full advantage off. Still, Sasuke hit him as much as Naruto jabbed at him, both of them switching from defense to offence seemlessly within one motion as they continued to fight.

Naruto smirked when he was the one to draw first blood. His nails cut through the fabric of Sasuke's clothing like a knife through butter, obscuring his nails from view, but the warm feeling of liquid running down his fingers and the wince from above him told him enough. He pulled back his hand, revealing dripping red fingers. Just looking at the blood made him shake a little. It was beautiful. Blood shimmering in the daylight was the best there was. After years of darkness, this seemed to shine more bright than anything before. He held his hand up, fingers spread with the sunlight filtering through them. "Beautiful..." He whispered. Naruto placed his hand on his cheek, just underneath the corner of his eye and dragged his hand downwards. He dragged his ring finger into his mouth, tasting the blood as he looked straight in Sasuke's eyes. The taste of metal danced in his tongue and he savored the familiar taste like a sweet memory. Somewhere deep in his mind he felt a shift, and he guessed it was showing on his face as well, because Sasuke's expression changed from disgusted to complete and utter fear. Death danced in those eyes. The somehow gentle happiness from before replaced with pure malice, his eyes shimmering red as blood.

"I want more..." Naruto growled, shifting his body to face Sasuke's head on. No holding back anymore. He wanted to draw more blood. He wanted to see more red. And right now, he needed it to be Sasuke's. Naruto jabbed and slashed, slowly but surely cutting more and more shallow wounds into Sasuke's skin. There wasn't an attack that didn't draw blood and because Naruto flourished each of his moves, the blood was splattered around the area and on Naruto with each move. Sasuke couldn't help but admire the gracefulness in the movement as he was slowly but surely overwhelmed. It was smooth and faultless, like a dance.

The new determination in Naruto's movement placed Sasuke back into defence only, but it didn't help. The cuts became deeper and deeper as the fight dragged on and fatigue came into play. Something Naruto didn't seem to feel. His movements didn't gain any flaws and didn't slow down at all. There was no defence for Sasuke and soon he found himself only shielding his face as Naruto worked him onto his back with a swipe of his leg. His back hitting the hard ground took his breath away. Naruto stood over him breathing heavily and splattered with Sasuke's blood. There was a weird, uncontrolled spasm in Naruto's hand, like he was having trouble keeping his hand stretched or keeping control over his movements. Even his breathing was unsteady, like he was trying to control a laugh with the way his breath left him in short bursts. Both his eyes were slithed and his teeth seemed even longer. He was absolutely wild.

When Naruto's hand came down, Sasuke was convinced he was going to die. He threw his arms in front of his face in defence once again, but he knew that wasn't going to be enough. "NO KILLING!" Morino's shout came from the sidelines, but Sasuke could only watch when Naruto made no effort to stop his descending attack. Instead, the pointed hand changed into closed fist and came crashing down with even more conviction and strength behind it. 

The sound of the hit connecting ran through the clearing and it was deafening. It threw up enough dust to obscure the sparring duo from view, leaving the spectators in a tense silence, waiting for the outcome that seemed inevitable. When the dust settled again, the spectators saw Naruto's fist dug into the ground just millimeters away from Sasuke's face, Morino standing behind Naruto, holding Naruto back by his collar, and Kakashi blocking Sasuke's face with one arm as much as Sasuke himself was doing and Kakashi held a kunai to Naruto's neck with his other hand.

The kunai was dug into Naruto's neck at least a few centimeters, but he Naruto didn't seem to notice. He was shaking violently, still staring down at Sasuke. "I want more. Sasuke-kun, give me more. I will kill you, right, Sasuke-kun? Only me. Promise me. Promise me you will only die by my hand!" The words were steady and deliberate, demanding. Naruto was wide-eyed, straining against Kakashi and Morino, but only to be able to keep looking at Sasuke. Sasuke didn't respond, too shaken by his near death experience to speak. The memory of Naruto promising a painless death all those years back ran through his mind, making him feel even more incapable then he already did. All he did was just stare at Naruto.

Kakashi strained his hand, pushing a little more on the kunai and drawing more blood. The pressure on his throat made Naruto cough, finally pulling his attention away from Sasuke when his own blood coated his mouth. Instead of flinching away from the sharp pain of the metal burried in his throat, Naruto laughed and leaned into it, his eyes wild and unfocussed. It seemed like he wanted the kunai to cut through his throat. Kakashi quickly repositioned the kunai in order to prevent further damage, surprised at the sudden action from Naruto, but still guarding Sasuke.

Morino pulled Naruto back against his chest and took a few steps back, hugging him with one arm, equally surprised. Morino was relieved the Uchiha hadn't received a fatal blow, but all of them knew that Sasuke's defence would have failed, Kakashi had been too late to block it and Morino was nowhere near holding Naruto back far enough to prevent him from landing his blow. The fact that Sasuke's face wasn't a crater like the ground beside him was entirely Naruto's doing. Naruto missed the hit on purpose. Whether he had missed because Morino had shouted, or because he never intended to land the fatal blow to begin with remained to be seen. 

Right now, Morino needed Naruto to get a grip on himself. The boy was laughing like a maniac, shaking uncontrollably and breathing hard. He struggled without strength in Morino's arm, and his focus kept being drawn back to Sasuke. "Good boy, well done." Morino mumbled to Naruto like he did when Naruto had helped him around the department. Just like that the maniacal laughter and frenzy Naruto had been in melted away and he relaxed against Morino, leaning into Morino heavily. "Thanks, Papa." Naruto said back. He sounded tired and a little defeated, making Morino wonder if Naruto thanked him for the compliment or for something else. 

Sakura and Tsunade rushed over and immediately started to check over Sasuke while throwing glances at Naruto, who still stood leaning against Morino. Non of the medics even thought about tending the gaping cut in Naruto's neck, but it had already started to heal anyway so it didn't matter. 

Naruto had his eyes closed and a smile on his face. It seemed like he had found some kind of heavenly peace and was now revelling in it. He brought his bloodied fingers to his mouth again, sniffing at them and licking them in pure bliss. Nobody stopped him, not daring to disrupt the sudden peacefulness of the blond. Several ANBU and Kakashi did position themselves around him to keep him from attacking Sasuke again should he decide to do that.

Minutes dragged on and Tsunade and Sakura were still tending to Sasuke. Naruto's hands were clean at this point and Morino had let go of his hold on him. There was an air of calmness around Naruto, a stark contrast to just a few minutes ago. "Ne, Morino-san. Sasuke is strong, isn't he?" He asked with admiration in his voice.

Morino looked at Naruto before looking back at Sasuke. "Hm? Yes, he is."

"Stronger than Papa?"

"Most likely."

"Amazing. That's amazing!" Morino looked at Naruto again to find that Naruto was sincere. He had a serious look on his face that was peaceful at the same time. Morino gave him a smile.

"Ne, Morino-san."

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Am I stronger than Sasuke?"

"I don't know. This was just taijutsi, after all. I don't know his ability in ninjustu." Morino placed his hand on Naruto's head and ruffled his hair a little.

"I see... I understand. Ne, Morino-san, could it be..." He looked up at Morino, a guilty smile on his lips. "That I went a little overboard just now?" He said as he pointed at Sasuke, who was slowly being helped to sit up.

Morino chuckled. "Yes, I think you did, but what else would be expected? You did your best and gave it your all. I'm sure Sasuke did the same."

"I see, good. That's good. He's my first toy to play back, so I don't want to break him accidentally." Naruto grinned. He stepped away from Morino and then disappeared from sight. The ANBU jumped up in attention and Kakashi carefully scanned the environment, but they didn't see him. He reappeared in front of Sasuke, who was still seated on the ground. Naruto crouched down and smiled a toothy smile with his eyes closed. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I played to roughly!" He said sounding childish. He opened his eyes and held out his hand, waiting for Sasuke to grab hold. After a second of doubt, Sasuke did and Naruto pulled him to his feet. 

"It's okay, I'm fine." Sasuke said, looking away.

Naruto walked away a few steps, his hands searching his neck for the collar that was no longer there. He turned around to face Sasuke again. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. I remember our first promise too!" 


	17. Painful Truth

After a short break, Naruto was asked once again to step up to the center of the clearing, this time he stood opposite Jiraya. "This isn't going to be a spar. Jiraya will throw certain jutsu at you and we will judge your response to them. So the challenge here is for you not no get hit, alright?" Sarubobi explained. Naruto nodded earnestly, smiling up at the old man.

Jiraya and Naruto took positions with enough space between them for the jutsus. Again Kakashi stood between them with his hand raised. "Ready..? Go!" Kakashi jumped back and Naruto turned his attention to the Toad sage. Seeing Naruto's eyes filled with determination, Jiraya decided he was going to go all out right from the start. He made a few quick signs before slamming down his hand. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (summoning jutsu)." A puff of smoke filled the area around Jiraya and settled to reveal Jiraya standing on top of a giant toad, smirking and expecting Naruto to be at least impressed. When he saw the boy hadn't moved an inch, not even looking up, an irk mark appeared on his forehead. "Hey, brat! At least you can be surprised!" He yelled down, a fist clenched in passion. A collective sweat drop went through the crowd, but Jiraya ignored it. "Fine, than let's see how you do!" 

Jiraya made a few more hand signs, his movements syncing up with the toad underneath him. "Katon: Gamayu Endan (Fire release: Toad Flame Bomb)!" Both Jiraya's and the toad's cheeks bulged, before the toad spit out a large amount of oil and Jiraya fire. The flaming oil hurled at Naruto and people that were standing too close scattered away, including the two kage. Nobody had expected Jiraya to go straight to jutsu's of this magnitude. 

The flames hit Naruto dead on and it didn't seem like he did anything to stop the flames from engulfing him. It took a few seconds before Jiraya relented his attack and let the flames die down. The area where the jutsu was aimed slowly revealed itself again from the smoke. Nothing but scorched earth and in the middle of it a bundle of purple. The bundle broke apart, long chains hovering in the air around Naruto, who hadn't suffered so much as a sooth stain. The chakra chains hovered around him menacingly. They almost looked like snakes protecting their master with the way the ends of the chains followed Jiraya's, but as suddenly as Naruto had called forth the chains, he let them disappear again. 

Jiraya stared at him in disbelief. "You know your mother's Jutsu?" He asked. 

"My mother's? She was an Uzumaki, right?" Jiraya nodded and Naruto smiled. It was nice to know a little more background on his mother. His former Jinchuuriki had had a kind heart, though she was ruthless when she needed to be. "I've seen her use them. To restrain me when they sealed me again. Her and the blond man." Naruto let out a humorless laugh. The man and the woman, so protective over him. Of course those were his parents. And he killed them. He looked down to his hand. This was his human hand, but he clearly saw the claws he could have, the claws he did have when he ran them through his parents. Naruto's parents. His parents? Had he known those were his parents? Maybe, somewhere deep down he did, but he couldn't make out whether he knew because Naruto had known but it being unknown to Kurama, or if it was the other way around. His hands shook at the idea he had killed his parents. Knowingly or otherwise, the part of him that had killed his parents was within him, and so should the guilt be. 

The problem was that he didn't feel guilty. It hadn't been Naruto that killed his parents, and Kurama could hardly be blamed, being controlled by Madara. Really, if you got down to it, it was the fault of Kushina and Minato themselves. They knew the seal would weaken and hadn't done enough to safeguard Kushina. It was their own fault. They were responsible for all the death that got blamed on him, their son. He had been the one to suffer for their selfish need to reproduce. 

It stung, though. If only. The eternal wonder of what something could have been if something else was different. Had he missed his parents? No, just the idea of having them. How could he miss what he had never had? Did he blame his parents? Somewhere he did, but he couldn't really. Human nature was to nurture and what better way to nurture than to have a child out of love for each other? At least he knew he was made with love. Then how he had been forced to live. That wasn't anyone's fault either, jet even without something to blame Naruto still felt anger and a need to find the cause of it. In a way, that made him like the villagers that had tormented him for most of his life.

Naruto sighed, and looked back up at Jiraya, who was still standing on top of his giant toad. Contemplating life would have to wait for later. It didn't matter. It was in the past. His eyes were empty and cold as he looked up, making Jiraya feel uncomfortable. Where had the burning determination from just a few moments gone? 

Instead of dwelling on the sudden change, Jiraya prepared his next attack. It was going to be grand! He gathered chakra into the palm of his hand. A momento learned from his apprentice, Naruto's father. The blue chakra swirled in a tight ball, the speed of rotation high enough to influence the air around it. A whistling sound penetrated the silence that had settled in the area. "Rasengan!"

Jiraya jumped down, using the fall to increase his momentum as he charged straight for Naruto. He wasn't sure why he used this destructive Jutsu against Naruto, but it felt right to do so. If Naruto could take this, or at least counter this, Jiraya was certain Naruto could handle just about any Jutsu thrown at him. 

In half the time it took for Jiraya to reach Naruto, Naruto had gathered an unnatural amount of chakra in the palm of his hand as well. A perfect mix of Kurama's and Naruto's energy gathered in bubbles before combining in his palm. Purple light emerged from it, but the center was such a jumble of intense colour it looked to be black. The chakra that escaped the Bijudama settled in the air like a purple dust, equal parts red and blue, and charged with electricity. Naruto placed one foot back, ready to catch the inevitable collision head on. 

Jiraya didn't stop and Naruto didn't step out of the way. The Jutsu met and an intense pressure pushed back anything and everything that was too close. The nearest trees were uprooted and slammed backwards into their unmoved companions, only for those to bent and break down as well. The spectators scurried to find a hiding place, bracing themselves against the sheer force. Kakashi and Sarutobi were one of the few able to stand their ground, watched between their arms that guarded their faces. The first thing that visibly happened was the disappearance of the giant toad, followed by a figure being flung out of the dust cloud on both sides of the cloud. Jiraya landed on the trunk of a tree that had managed to stay up, using his chakra to stick to it as he looked back at the clouds of dust, trying to find a trace of the blond he had just attacked. 

Naruto was flung back as well, but didn't recover as well as Jiraya. Or didn't really try to. Instead, he skidded across the ground and slammed into nearby rocks head first. Jiraya winched at the impact and he saw a spider-web of cracks run through the stone. He hadn't meant to actually injure Naruto. Jiraya jumped down from the tree and made his way over to the rocks, followed by Kakashi, Sarutobi and Morino. 

The force had smacked Naruto deep into the stone, and all they saw at first was a deep hole smeared with blood along the right side. The blood started at a razor-sharp, protruding point of stone. As they peered into the hole, dreading to find a seriously injured boy, they found themselves staring at nothing. Just more rocks. 

"What are you looking at?" A voice spoke from behind curiously, and a very familiar head of blond hair wiggled his way in between them, and peered into the hole along with them. All four stared at him, not knowing what to say. "What? Is there something on my face?" He asked innocently. He wiped his face with his left hand, only to smear blood over his face. Morino's eyes trailed to Naruto's side to find a large gash in his side. Blood was running down Naruto's side in copious amounts, soaking his clothing and pooling on the ground quickly, but the blond didn't even seem to notice. 

"Oh, my Kami, Naruto!" Morino yelled, placing a hand over the gaping wound and pressing on in an attempt to slow the bleeding. Naruto looked down and blinked a few time. His foot was wet. He didn't like it. His own blood wasn't nearly as interesting as someone else's, but at least he still bled red like everyone else.

His side was stinging painfully and Morino made it worse. But Morino cared for him, so he would be helping, and Naruto let him. The simple trust of a child in his guardian was enough for Naruto to accept that Morino was hurting him more to help him, though he didn't quite grasp why he needed help. He had been injured before, worse even. Was his throat not pierced by a kunai not ten minutes ago? The blood that had run down his throat still irritated his lungs. That didn't render any care from Morino, so why did it now? Was it that much worse?

Kakashi called a few medics to Naruto with a little panic in his voice, telling them to help him and when they didn't make haste like they would have done for anyone else, Kakashi yelled at them to hurry it up! It were only two medics, but Naruto didn't like it. He didn't want to be crowded and he didn't need their basic medical attendings. He looked at Morino again and when he saw the worry in the man's eyes, Naruto sighed and let the medics do as they pleased. He closed his eyes and stood still, his arm up in the air to give them room to work.

He had to admit. Medical attention actually sped up the healing process. Who knew? Still, as soon as they were done, Naruto chased them of by glaring at them. He walked to Morino and let himself fall face first against the man's chest and covered his ears with his hands. He was tired. There were too many people here and he wasn't used to that kind of attention anymore. He didn't want to be judged by strangers anymore. Their eyes were boring holes into him and just for a little while he wanted to be sheltered from them again like he had been in the department. 

Morino wrapped his arms around Naruto's head and shoulders and secluded him for as much as he could, reading the mood of his pseudo-adopted little brother perfectly. Naruto let out a single sob for the truth about his parents and his role in their deaths before he collected himself with a long, steady breath. No tears left him, but that didn't mean he was unfeeling. The arms around him slowly made him relax a little again. 

"Hokage-sama, how about we break for lunch? Give the dust some time to settle?" Morino asked. It was well past noon anyway and he figured some food could help settle Naruto's unsteadiness. Sarutobi nodded and Kakashi agreed with his mentor. Morino couldn't even guess where the mind of Naruto had wandered to to gain the emptiness his eyes held now, but he did know a little secret about Naruto. A way to cheer the boy up with a single word. "Ichiraku's?" 

It didn't have as much effect as Morino had hoped. Naruto looked up at Morino, eyes still slightly damp from unshed tears. "Really?" He asked in the saddest of voices. "Yes, really. Come, let's go." Naruto followed Morino, but his melancholy didn't seem to break, not even with Ichiraku's as a prospect. 

"Welcome!" The phrase was shouted by Teuchi as soon as Morino touched the cloth hanging in front of the small property. Morino stopped in his tracks. "Ahaha, thanks?" He laughed awkwardly. Naruto walked past him without really seeing anything, sat down at the table and leaned his face down on it. "Old man, one large Miso Chashu Pork ramen with extra bean sprouts, extra green onions and extra Chashu Pork..." He mumbled into the table. It might have been a few years, but he still knew what the best on the menu was.

Ayame walked up to him and placed a menu in front of him. "I'm sorry, but we don't serve Ramen anymore. Here's the new menu with a selection of Tsukemen. After all, times are changing and we need to adopt to the customer's taste." She said happily.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Morino asked. 

"No, Ramen is noodles served in broth with various topping. Tsukemen has the noodles served separately from a sauce, in which you dip the noodles before eating!" Tauchi answered.

"Like I said, isn't it the same thing?' Morino pressed again.

"It's the principle that's different!" Ayame answered. 

"I just want Ramen..." Naruto said softly, still with his head on the table. 

"One serving coming right up!" Teuchi said, walking over to Naruto with a flourish. Naruto looked up, happiness playing in his eyes, but the bowl was interrupted by Ayame. "No, these noodles need to boil for another minute, because unlike Ramen, they won't finish cooking in the broth." Naruto face-planted again as he saw his food being swiped away. 

A few minutes and some soft grunts of complaints later, Teuchi placed two bowls in front of Naruto, who once again looked up happily. "Wait, where's the soup?" It was just a dry bowl of noodles. The soup had been swiped away by Ayame, who didn't agree with the taste of the broth. "This is savoury enough, but it needs to be more refreshing, like how it was at Yuugao village." Again the dish was remade, leaving Naruto to silently contemplate suicide as he needed to wait again. Morino just sat there patiently waiting for his own order.

"Alright, this time it's perfect!" Teuchi said. This time, two bowls were placed in front of him and no-one took them away from him. Naruto smirked with his face still on the table. He grabbed the bowl with the sauce and poured it right over the noodles, disregarding the other bowl. "Ha, if I do this, it still counts as Ramen!" He yelled victoriously. 

"You could have at least tried! Now you'll miss the authentic Tsukemen experience!" Ayama snapped at Naruto.

"Who cares? I just want my Ramen, damn it!" They kept bickering back and forth, but as they did, Naruto ate three large orders of it, so really, even if it frustrated Ayame to her very core, there was very little for her to complain about since the business was good...

Morino smiled as he watched Naruto have a happy and healthy social interaction with someone. He only had one serving, finding that quite enough and having eaten it in the authentic Tsukemen way. He barely noticed that Naruto had already worked away a third portion until it was time to pay and, of course, Naruto had no money at all, meaning Morino needed to dig into his own wallet. 

Teuchi reassured him that this wasn't the biggest bill anyone had ever gotten stuck with at the hands of Naruto and that the ANBU known as Cat even had to have a tab opened at one point over Naruto's Ramen gluttony. Naruto had grinned proudly at that and Morino couldn't help but smile back.

"So, are you feeling better?" Morino asked, as they walked through the village back to the training field.

"I guess." Naruto answered. He liked this. It was peaceful and he felt a little more in control of himself again. 

Morino looked at Naruto. "Are you gonna tell me what happened?" 

Naruto took a deep breath and stared ahead of him. "No..." It was sad sounding and dragged out, so Morino didn't press it further. It wasn't like he would never see Naruto again and over the past few years he had learned that Naruto had very little he wanted to keep private, usually opting to shout is with enthusiasm when something bothered him, so he knew Naruto would tell him sooner or later. He'd leave it for now.


	18. The Final Test

They were the first to be back. Only Sasuke and Sakura were in the training area, quietly talking to each other. Neither Morino nor Naruto made any secret of their return, and they were spotted as soon as they walking into the clearing. Sakura glared at him, whereas Sasuke just stared with mild interest. Interest, Naruto noticed, that was solely focussed on him.

He grinned, locking eyes with Sasuke and it took another few moments before Sasuke realised his stare was answered with a lot more intensity. Sasuke gained a small, suppressed smile when he noticed the returned attention, but quickly broke eye contact after that. Naruto cocked his head, not really sure what to make of the smile, but it made him giddy. He felt happy that Sasuke didn't seem to mind being defeated by him with relative ease. Naruto would've hated it for his new toy to be so easily riled. He much prefered slowly working in the animosity himself. You know, give actual good reasons and not just the weak 'I don't like you because you're stronger than me' motivation.

Sarutobi and Kakashi returned at the same time, along with Jiraya and Tsunade. Jiraya made eye contact with Naruto and grinned guiltily at seeing the boy. He had just spent ten minutes being berated because he used such overpowered moves when it had been a test to see how strong Naruto was. Needless to say, if it had been anyone but Naruto there was a good chance the first attack would have killed. Something that was definitely not in the planned course of action. Naruto's clothing were still stained with blood, not to mention they were ripped where the rock had cut into him. Jiraya would need to buy him some new clothing.

"Morino, could you please join us?" Sarutobi called out. Morino nodded and started to walk over, Naruto right on his heels. "Naruto, could you please wait somewhere else?" Kakashi asked when he saw the boy follow. Naruto gave a nod and a smile and let his eyes wander around the area. There wasn't a lot to distract himself with, so he went for the obvious option, Sasuke and Sakura. Mainly Sasuke. He grinned and slowly made his way to them. They were still having a conversation, until Sakura noticed his approach and she fell silent. Sasuke followed her glare and looked at Naruto as well. He crossed his arms and kind-of-but-not-completely stepped in front of Sakura to guard her. 

"Hiya!" Naruto greeted, holding up one hand, blue happiness shimmering in his eye.

"What do you want?" Sakura snapped at him. She really had no interest in interacting with this murderer.

"Nothing much. Morino-san is busy, so I thought we could talk a little. I'm curious about our classmates. Care to fill me in?" He asked with a cheeky grin. It was enough for Sasuke to drop his guard a little by letting his arms fall to his sides. Sakura, on the other hand, crossed her arms and turned away in a huff.

"Including us three, nine have graduated and made it through the final test. Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Hinata, Kiba and Shino made it as well. Because you weren't there, they couldn't make three three-man-teams, so I got placed with team Guy, containing Neji, TenTen and Lee, who graduated a year before us. Sakura was placed with Kiba, Shino and Hinata." Sasuke said, just stating facts.

"I met Ino." Naruto said. He got two curious looks, one masked in indifference and the other thinly veiled in disgust. "Yeah, when Morino-san was walking me out of the department. She and her father were on the way in. I like him, Inoichi-san. It was always nice to talk with him. They went to interrogate the man I just broke into confession. That was fun. It's not often I get to play like that." Naruto said with a fond smile on his face, reminiscing the scene as he had made it play out. "Oh, but don't worry. There's no need to break either of you. I'm still going to play with you, just... differently..." Naruto's focus drifted, leaving him staring blankly in front of him. 

Not wanting a clearer picture, neither of them said anything in return. Instead, Sasuke steered the conversation in a different direction. "Why didn't you get out of the way of Jiraya? Even you should have seen the danger that the Rasengan would be."

Naruto nodded, thinking about his mini-breakdown just before their attacks collided. He looked at his hand again. A little too long, it seemed, because Sasuke spoke up again. "Hey, you alright?" He waved his hand in front of Naruto's face, trying to break his stare. Naruto blinked and looked up with a big smile. "I figured I could take it!" He yelled cockily, clenching the hand he had been staring at into a fist. Both Sakura and Sasuke sweat dropped, but didn't get a chance to respond further.

"Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, come here, please!" Kakashi called them over. They walked over, Sasuke and Sakura behind Naruto, almost looking like they were flanking him as a royal guard would. He grinned at the thought. Maybe he should be gunning for Hokage or something? But no, just the idea of the paperwork involved was enough to set him off that path again. Well, it was good having considered it, even if it just lasted a second. Never shut a door on yourself, right?

They stopped a few feet in front of Kakashi. "We've decided to change the last test. There isn't a lot more value in just seeing your skill. Instead, we will do another type of test." Kakashi held up two bells. "You three will each need to get a bell from me in order to pass this test. There will be a special reward for each of you if you succeed."

"Really? What do we get?" Naruto asked. Having been practically raised on rewards for jobs well done, he loved this.

"That will be a surprise." Kakashi answered. Naruto scowled. He didn't like secrets when it meant something being kept from him. The other way around was, of course, completely fine. 

"What about the one who doesn't get a bell?" Sakura asked. As expected, she was the one to call out that little detail.

Kakashi grinned, the mischievous evilness of it reaching his uncovered eye, almost impressing Naruto. "You'll be doing D-rank missions for a month, with the Tora the Cat missions saved especially for you!" He said happily. It would solve a great deal of reluctant and battered Genin if they were to be able to ship off that particular mission for a short time. Sakura and Sasuke both took half a step back in horror, sharing a glance in which they reached the silent agreement that they were going to work together to avoid such a horrible fate. In the face of such a horrible fate self-preservation was the only thing that mattered. Throwing Naruto under the bus, since he was technically still a Genin and he had no experience in doing missions, wasn't that much of an evil act, was it? It would be a good experience for him...

Most people who had watched the first two tests didn't return, having their curiosity satisfied or having prior engagements to that kept them from returning. This meant it felt like a lot less pressure was leaning down on Naruto, and a lot more freedom to act like a maniacal lunatic should he feel like that. The grin this produced made Kakashi wonder whether it was a good idea to pitch himself against the blond, but he didn't really have the option of backing out anymore.

"Time limit is one hour. Go when I call start..." He looked at all three and thought about how everything could have gone if Naruto hadn't been imprisoned and the three in front of him would have been his students four years ago. Would he have been able to handle it? "And start!"

Sasuke and Sakura disappeared, but Naruto just stood there with that blasted grin. Kakashi could practically see the plan form in those glinting eyes and he braced himself for what was to come. He blinked, and in that short moment all trace of Naruto disappeared. Literally. Kakashi wasn't the most examplerary when it came to sensing chakra, but he was good enough to know he could rely on it. Now, however, he didn't even sense a lingering trail of chakra from Naruto. The volatile nature and the constant flux Naruto's chakra seemed to be in was almost impossible to hide, so what had he done and where was he?

Kakashi uncovered his eye, knowing that if not for Naruto, Sasuke was enough reason to go full power. And even Sakura would be able to cause him problems if she got the drop on him. He couldn't deny her strength when it came down to it. All she needed was an opening to land a punch and he would be floored. Not out, but definitely floored. 

Sharingan blazing, he carefully studied his surroundings, identifying disadvantages and advantages for himself. He moved to the middle of the field, where a lone tree was standing strong and he used that as a cover for his back. In his movement, the bells gave a reassuring ring and he sensed Sasuke. As expected from the genius Uchiha prodigy, he was already in action, making his way to a very well hidden chakra signature belonging to Sakura.

The were close enough to be at least aware of each other's presence, but it was more likely Sasuke and Sakura were talking to each other. A short flare in both their chakra, almost at the same time, indicated an emotional response of some sort, but was covered up so fast Kakashi didn't have the time to interpret it.

Sasuke made his way to the other side of him and Sakura took a spot in front of him, both still hidden in the woods and dividing his attention into two fronts. And after that... they didn't move anymore. Kakashi wondered if they were trying to lure him to either of them so the other had more chance of sneaking up on him, but with the time limit in place that would be wasting precious time they didn't have a lot of.

After a few minutes Kakashi's eyes widened when he realised the chakra signatures weren't moving. At all. There was no natural ebbing and flowing in the chakra, no small lapses in control and no spikes. Just one, long, equal, unnatural signature. There was also no wind and Kakashi was sure it was definitely not a windless day. He took a step closer, trying to focus on Sakura's chakra and getting a better read on it. 

Suddenly he was face to face with Naruto. He stood so close to him, their faces were almost touching. Kakashi jumped back and up, into the tree behind him. "Yo, Naruto. I lost track of you there for a sec." He sheepishly greeted the grinning boy.

"Oh, I know." Naruto responded. He was looking up at Kakashi without blinking, unnerving the man. Why did it always seem like the blond was in perfect control of the situation, even when he barely seemed to be able to control himself?

Naruto took a few steps back so he wouldn't have to look straight up anymore and held up the two bells while grinning. "What?" Kakashi looked at his belt, but the little bells were indeed gone. "When did you get them?"

"The first time you heard them chime, they were no longer yours but became mine." Naruto smiled. "Hey, that rhymed, nice." He giggled. 

"What about Sakura and Sasuke?" Surely nothing happened to them in the few minutes that had passed.

"Well... " Naruto waved his hand through the air, and it seemed to shimmer for a second. The wind was back, the sun seemed to be a lot further into the day, about an hour or so, and Sasuke and Sakura were right next to Naruto. Sasuke in his classic pose of crossed arms and turned away to the side a little and Sakura alternating between glaring at Naruto and glancing at Sasuke. "Truth be told, I was bored, so I kinda put a Genjutsu on you before you even uncovered your red eye. The moment I disappeared, to be exact. After Sakura and Sasuke took their places, I looped that moment in time for you so we could do whatever we wanted without you noticing. Granted, I already had the bells and was just messing with them and you, but hey, I had fun so... Yeah, all good." He took the bells apart and gave one to each, before he sat down, stretched and continued to lay down, arms and legs spread and soaking in the sun. "Ah... the sun is so nice. I really missed it." He said closing his eyes.

"Well, this went... a little too easy..." Kakashi commented.

Naruto looked up. "I know, right? It's like you didn't even try! How are you a Kage with how lazy you are?" Naruto sat up and winked at Kakashi with a cheeky smile.

"Sure... that was it... Well, let's blatantly ignore that comment and go back to the test. Are you sure you're giving the bells away to your teammates and getting the punishment all by your lonesome?" Kakashi asked.

"You're asking me if I would pass an opportunity to wander around the village under the cover of doing missions instead of being confined somewhere yet again? Yeah, I'm going for option B in this case. Look how pale I am! I could use some time outside." There was a heavy sarcastic tone in his voice, leaving the three around him to wonder if he meant it and he was stating the obvious or he didn't mean it and still went through with it to 'save' his teammates. 

Kakashi sighed. He didn't understand the appeal Sarutobi saw in this kid, honestly. He was complicated, difficult to understand and so utterly random it hurt sometimes. How was he ever going to become someone you could rely on in the face of danger, or when it came down to loyalty? He hoped Sasuke and Sakura would be able to build some kind of trust up with him in their team, but since Sarutobi already made up his mind, there was little he could do about it. "If that is your final answer, I guess you all made it." He said disheartenedly.

"What? I'm not gonna get missions?" The saddest of voices whispered, even able to pierce Kakashi's heart.

"N-no, you will, just not boring D-rank missions and chores..." 

Naruto jumped up with a smile. "Nice!" 

Morino and Sarutobi walked up to them, both with a smile. "Well, I guess you three are officially a team now. Naruto, here you go." Sarutobi held up a Hitai-ate, completely undamaged and attached to a black cloth. Naruto grabbed it and wrapped it around his forehead with a happy smile. 

"Hmm, that doesn't look right at all..." Morino said, stepping up to Naruto and he took the Hitai-ate off of Naruto's head. Morino ignored the very hurt look in Naruto's eyes, and fought against a pang of guilt when Naruto actually cast his eyes down. The slump in his shoulders just made the guilt a little stronger. Naruto didn't want Morino to disapprove of him. Morino chuckled. This just proved how much Naruto valued loyalty and friendship. Relationships were precious to him, even if he had weird ways of showing it. Morino lifted Naruto's chin and smiled at him. He replaced the Hitai-ate on Naruto, but instead of placing it around his forehead, Morino tied it around his neck. "There, perfect!" He said, watching the sadness in Naruto's eyes warp to happiness and pride. Naruto hugged Morino, and Morino returned the hug with equal strength. 

"You three are getting a few days to settle and train together and become a team. After that, report to me and we will get you on your first mission. Kakashi and I will further discuss what rank to assign to you, Naruto, so we will fill you in on that then too." He received nods from everyone. "Well, then, I'll be going. Will you join me, Kakashi? There is still paperwork to do." He chuckled at the defeated reaction from Kakashi and walked towards the Hokage tower.


	19. Domestic Life

Sasuke was between being asleep and being awake. It was somewhere early in the morning and still quite dark outside. Enough to keep most of the world still hidden in deep shadows. The only thing he could think about was how utterly comfortable he felt. "So comfy..." He whispered into the darkness. He wasn't flat on his back like he usually was when he woke up and he didn't feel stiff and sore like he usually did when he woke up.

Instead, he was on his side and he had his arms wrapped around something soft and warm. Even his legs were intertwined with it, making it feel like he was hugging a body pillow.

He snuggled closed, burying his face against the warmth and letting the slightly familiar scent fill his nose. A small sniff turned into a deep lung full in what felt like half a yawn and half a content sigh. This was nice. He didn't dislike this.

Realisation that not all was as it should be dawned on him when the body pillow hugged him back. There were arms wrapped around his neck, one of which Sasuke was currently using as a pillow. The rhythmic breathing of whoever was in his arms was steady and deep, indicating the person was asleep. 

Sasuke sighed in aggravation. There was only one person he could think of to push the limits and get in bed with him and he really did not have the patience to deal with her shit this early in the morning. She knew it was never going to go anywhere between them, yet she still clung to her childhood crush like it was the last thing she had to keep her sane. Having her on his team and having to have her in his house because of the mission was a small nightmare in and of itself. He'd manage, of course, he could handle it, but he did wonder about how she was holding out with this all. 

It didn't matter, though, she was crossing boundaries and he held no qualms in reinstating them. He let out a low, but quite growl and pushed her away to wake her up a bit roughly. From the reaction he could tell he did indeed wake her up, the slight increase in breath speed and sudden tenseness in the muscles were clear indicators of it. "Leave. I don't want you here." He said in a cold voice edged with anger, a little gruff from sleep. He expected a whiny voice to tell him she didn't want to go and that she needed him, or something along that line, but instead it was just a whimper and she cuddled against him again. 

He moved away from her, not wanting her to touch him like that. "Sakura, you need to leave." He said in the same cold voice, be it a little less gruff. The figure in his bed stilled and sat up, leaning on one arm and with a very sleepy posture. She rose one hand and rubbed her eyes, letting out a small yawn.

"I'm not Sakura." The figure said sleepily and the realisation hit Sasuke like a brick. That was in no way a woman's voice and definitely not Sakura's. It was Naruto's.

"Dobe, what the hell? Why are you here?!" Sasuke hissed as he tried to suppress yelling, not wanting to alarm the entire house to the fact that Naruto had snuck into bed with him. "Doesn't matter, get out."

"But I was cold! I can't sleep when I'm cold." Naruto's voice still held the same sleepiness, but Sasuke could practically hear the pout in it. 

"Then you should have asked for an extra blanket." Sasuke dead panned. It was too early for this! They had a few days off! He wanted to sleep in for at least one of them, damn it, and today was the only day without a planned morning training!

"You were asleep, so I couldn't ask. And your room is darker then mine. Mine is too bright." Naruto added.

"That's just bullshit. All the rooms are equally bright. Especially ours, since they are build the same way and on the same side of the house!" Sasuke hissed back. 

"Yeah, but if I sleep next to you, I can hide my face against your chest and then you block out the light for me. Plus, you're like, the perfect temperature, so it's like sleeping against a body-sized hot water bottle. You're perfect for sleeping with!" Sasuke felt a little blown away. Naruto sounded so... genuine and happy, just for sleeping next to him... and Sasuke found himself not having the heart to be angry with him. Not really anyway. Didn't take away the fact that Sasuke did not appreciate the late night addition to his bed. If Naruto had asked it might have been different. Wait, no, scrap that, he didn't want anyone to sleep next to him when they had a whole room for themselves. Naruto was no different than anyone. Still, there was a second in which his brain had the fart of an idea to accept it, but that gas was gone before you could even smell it.

Sasuke didn't have the energy to continue the discussion, since his own brain didn't even seem fully set on co-operating. He needed coffee before that. "Don't do this again! Get out and stay out of my room!" Sasuke snapped, before getting up and leaving his room.

Naruto sat in the dark, grinning after Sasuke. He had been awake longer than Sasuke had realised, so he had heard the whispered words and also noticed the time Sasuke took after realising someone was sleeping next to him. Even if he had been Sakura, Sasuke would have been controlled and collected about out. He didn't flip out and he didn't yell like an idiot either. Yeah, Naruto was definitely making a habit out of this one. He wondered how long it would take before Sasuke would stop trying to keep him out and just embrace Naruto. Literally.

With his heat source gone, Naruto didn't feel like going back to sleep again, so he followed Sasuke out of the room. A clock he passed in the hallway told him it was half past four in the morning. That wasn't really something that said a lot to Naruto, having lived without being able to tell time for so long. He needed to ask someone what were acceptable times to eat, train and sleep. He could guess, but wanted to be sure. It would be a shame if breakfast was cold every day for the rest of his stay.

Naruto found Sasuke in the kitchen, still in his night clothing which consisted of just boxer shorts and a t-shirt, which was a full t-shirt more than Naruto was wearing. Sasuke stood with his back to the door, focussed on making his coffee. "How late do most people get up?" Naruto asked, watching Sasuke move around the kitchen.

"I don't know." Sasuke answered stiffly. What did he know about that? He had mostly lived alone.

"Then, how late should I have breakfast ready?" Naruto sat down on one of the chairs, leaning his elbow on the table and his head on his hand.

Sasuke finished his coffee, took the mug and turned around. "Why do you want to cook? The food you've made so far was boring, so why bother?"

Ouch, talk about direct. Naruto winched. "Hey, I worked hard on that and the only thing I had to go on were memories of Dog cooking, so I think I did pretty great. I didn't hear any complains while you were eating!" Naruto said indignantly.

Sasuke took a long sip, staring at Naruto who was looking pouty and angry. Sasuke wanted to glare back, give Naruto a cold shoulder, but he couldn't. It didn't feel fair towards Naruto, which was weird because Sasuke only felt that way with Naruto. He couldn't have cared less if it had been Sakura, or anyone else for that matter. He sighed. "That didn't answer my question. Why bother cooking?" He was genuinely curious to see some of the motivations behind Naruto's actions. He needed to find the sanity in the insanity if that was at all possible.

"To mess with Sakura." Naruto said with utmost certainty. Sasuke just stared at him for a moment.

"How does cooking mess with Sakura? You're not poisoning her, are you?!"

"What? No! No, she'd have to eat to get poisoned, but she's not eating because it's food I made. Not that the food's poisoned. It is a good idea, though..." Naruto smiled up at Sasuke and Sasuke felt like he just uncovered more insanity instead of a little sanity. He really didn't understand what went on in that blond head, but he was intrigued and he was going to find out how to handle it. Maybe Sasuke needed to speak with Morino about it. That man seemed to have a perfect handle on Naruto.

"So why mess with Sakura?" Sasuke pressed the issue again. He wanted to know the reason, even if it didn't make sense to him.

Naruto smiled, a distant look in his eyes like he was reminiscing something fondly. "You know, I killed her mother. I did." He said, motioning to himself. "But it wasn't a sudden killing spree without reason. I couldn't handle what they put me through every day anymore. When I entered school I learned I orphaned her, which was interesting because I am too, but we're so different. You are too, but you are also different from both of us. Back then I wanted to learn why, but I know now. It's not because of us, but because of people around us." Naruto took a deep breath and looked at Sasuke. The way both eyes were a little dull was unsettling to Sasuke. He had figured out by now that Naruto's eyes could tell how he was feeling, but both dulled was new to Sasuke. "Right now I'm testing limits. Pushing buttons and I hope I win, because that will mean that Sakura will be my ally. Simple as that. She doesn't want to eat because I cooked it? Fine, than I will make damned sure each meal is made by me, leaving her no choice but to rely on me for that." With a blink Naruto's red eye flared up a little. "I love breaking things. Including people. It's fun!" He grinned cheekily. "So, what's a good time to have breakfast ready?"

Sasuke sighed. That made as much sense as it didn't. It answered a few questions and just prompted more. "Six." He said, walking out of the kitchen with his coffee in hand. He walked to the back porch and sat down on the edge. The backyard needed tending to, but the upkeep of the house alone in between missions and training was already too much to do properly. He sighed. He hated that his parents' home was slowly but surely decaying and his feeble struggles weren't helping much. He knew the only thing that would help is to have more people to take care of things. Maybe one day. It was still his dream to rebuild his clan to a certain extent.

When his coffee was almost gone, Naruto joined him and sat leaning against a post. For a while, he just sat there, staring across the yard and Sasuke couldn't help but look at Naruto. Not glancing, just straight up staring at him. There was something about Naruto that Sasuke liked and he didn't like that. Sasuke also couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly that made him want to just keep studying Naruto.

He sighed and looked away, in the same general direction Naruto was staring at. "I like you." Naruto said out of the blue. Sasuke tensed a little and kept looking out into the yard. He felt Naruto's eyes on him, but didn't dare look back. He didn't not know Naruto liked him, but to hear it without death threats was different. Naruto liked him, enough to make a point of telling him without any provocation to do so. And Sasuke couldn't deny he liked hearing that from someone that might become his friend one day.

He thought about the many love confessions from Sakura and other girls. Those left him cold. He didn't care that they proclaimed love or like for him and he didn't feel anything when he shot them down without regards for their feelings, but when Naruto said it, it almost made him a little happy.

How do you respond to this type of thing? Positively, that is. How to reject someone was like second nature to Sasuke, but how do you build up an actual friendship? Or a better question would be whether he wanted to build a friendship or not. He had his team to socialise with and he liked his time alone. Did he really need to add to that? He wanted to, though, because it was Naruto. And for once the social obligation of interacting didn't feel so, well, obligated.

He looked back at Naruto, who was still looking at him with mirthful, happy eyes. Sasuke felt his eyes being drawn to Naruto's. The blue one was beautiful with the way it portrayed Naruto's emotions. The red one was fierce, even now when it was a little dull. There was a lot of life in those eyes and Sasuke found himself fascinated with them. He wondered if his own eyes showed his emotions like Naruto's did, or that his dark eyes only showed the coldness he had made his own over the course of his life.

Instead of answering in kind, Sasuke needed to know something first. "Why?" He asked, breaking the eye contact by looking away. He wasn't social, he didn't really open up to anyone and he made a point not to let others too close. So why would Naruto like him when he himself knew he didn't make himself very likable.

"Because..." Naruto paused to think about his answer and could only come up with one solid word to summarize everything. "Reasons." Sasuke looked back at Naruto wanting to voice that that was a terrible answer, but as soon as he faced Naruto again, Naruto's lips were on his. Naruto pressed a little closer to his and then he was gone. He got up, picked up Sasuke's coffee mug and downed the little that was left and went back inside. Sasuke didn't even have the time to register what just happened. That was twice now. Twice that Naruto willingly and knowingly kissed him. And twice Sasuke had no idea how to respond to it.

Naruto had left his stomach in a knot and his mind racing. Sasuke wasn't able to organise any of his thought and feelings right now and just sat there staring at the door Naruto had closed behind him. His cheeks were burning. He was blushing, damn it, and his lips felt tingly. He licked his lips to get the feeling out of them, but it didn't help his heightened heart beat. He liked this feeling.

The door opened again to reveal Sakura in a very disheveled state. It was clear she just woke up and that she wasn't having a good time. When she saw Sasuke, she immediately straightened her posture and tried to fix her hair. Sasuke didn't really think it made much of a difference. She smiled. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun. I didn't expect you here." She went to sit down next to him and heaved a heavy sigh. Sasuke half had in mind to get up and leave, but he could see something was bothering her. Letting it linger would just make the issue come back at a less convenient time, like during an actual mission.

"What's wrong?" It almost came out as an accusation instead of a question, but Sakura was more then used to his coldness, and so his question produced little more than annoying behavior. She leaned in and grabbed his arm, leaning her head on his shoulder. Before she was even settled, Sasuke shook her off, but she didn't let go of his arm. "I wanted to make breakfast for you, Sasuke-kun, but that idiot is already cooking." She pouted, expecting sympathy or something, Sasuke wasn't sure.

"Then I should go help him, since it's my house." Sasuke said and he went to the kitchen. He learned something very important just now. A room with Naruto in it was probably going to be a Sakura-free room. He needed to rememver that.


	20. Well Supplied

It was interesting to say the least, having people to play with around you and seeing how they react to you. Naruto inserted himself in Sasuke's bed the second and third night as well, but the stubborn Uchiha still didn't admit he didn't truly mind, but it did already take longer before Sasuke kicked him out or left the room himself. 

Sakura was getting more hungry, and thus more cranky. She even didn't seem to care much about how she acted around Sasuke anymore, but what was most interesting was that she pretended she was fine. Even when others offered her snacks, she kept insisting she didn't want any, because she ate breakfast, lunch or diner, whichever was the last meal they had. And of course, as long as Sasuke had no plans to eat out, she didn't either.

Over the three days, they had made use of Sasuke's backyard for training purposes. After Sakura tactlessly commented that the yard was a mess and Sasuke snapped at her that if it bothered her she should clean it up, Naruto had roped Jiraya into fixing the yard with him. When Sasuke noticed what they were doing, he started helping too. Sakura and Tsunade opted to sit on the porch watching them work. In the very least, Tsunade got drinks and snacks for them, but Sakura didn't even get up all afternoon.

It irked Naruto. Not that she didn't do anything, but that she commented on something and then didn't act on it. For Naruto, that was most offensive. He never understood it when people complained, but didn't act. As long as it wasn't seriously hurting someone, just do what you feel needs to be done. Don't wait for others to solve it for you while whining.

One exception, if whining gets you what you want, whining is validated if done correctly.

They all went to the Hokage at the called upon time, somewhere in the early afternoon. On Naruto's request, in the form of whining to get you what you want, he subtly convinced the party to eat at Ichiraku's for lunch. See, whining to get what you want, okay. Whining to get something that has been and always will be denied to you, in other words Sakura's insistence with Sasuke, not okay. Well, at least she was less cranky now that she ate something. 

Sarutobi and Kakashi wasted no time upon their arrival to set out the issues as hand. "The Ame nin has told us that there is an organisation called Akatsuki that has been rounding up Jinchuuriki. The fact that the Ame nin was here means that they are looking for you, as I told you before. What we want is to be preemptive and strike them before they can strike us, At the insistence of Sarutobi-sama that includes you, Naruto. The mission you will be sent on it to seek out a pair of them that is travelling in this direction as we speak, Akasuna no Sasori and Deidara. We have little to no information about either of them, but we do know that Sasori originates from Sunagakure. This means that capturing or killing him will help us in establishing a connection to the Sand in hopes of smoothing over differences and opening at the very least trade possibilities." Kakashi took a deep breath and sat back. "You'll all understand the gravity of this mission. Sand and Leaf have been on shaky terms for a while. Having an incentive to re-open negotiations could bring great advantages in the years to come." 

Jiraya and Tsunade took the words seriously, Sasuke seemed indifferent but certain, Sakura looked dreadful and Naruto was staring out the window, intently watching a bird fly by, "Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto, for this mission you will be joined by Shikamaru, Choji and Ino and the commander for the whole group will be Shikamaru." Sarutobi said. There was a small flinch from Sasuke, that went unnoticed by most. Naruto caught it and grinned at him. Uchiha pride being stepped on. Nice. 

"So neither Jiraya nor Tsunade will be joining us? I thought they were supposed to be a part of our team." Sasuke questioned. 

Sarutobi nodded. "That was the original intent, but there is a new need for information and Jiraya's network is essential for that. Jiraya will set out again shortly and Tsunade is needed to set up a training facility within the hospital to train any Shinobi that wants to learn medical jutsu. Even having a grip on the basics could mean the difference between life and death when on a battlefield. Moreover, their original purpose in your group was to strengthen any lack of power in the group, but since Naruto has proven to be quite as capable as any Jounin, most likely being on par with most ANBU, we thought it to be better to spread out our forces as most efficient. Having said that, Naruto, your official rank is Genin. There is no way around that and to rise your official status, you'll need to take the exams. However, we will appoint you the unofficial rank of Jounin." Sarutobi smiled at Naruto and Naruto smiled back. He didn't really care about this and just accepted it as a gift from Jiji. 

"Team Asuma will be waiting for you at the gates at 8 o'clock this evening. Go pack and be ready to leave the village then." Kakashi said as he threw a scroll at Sasuke, who caught it without problems. "Here is some extra details that we got from the Ame nin. This is just a start, so be prepared to be on the road a lot in the coming months." With that and a bow, they all left again. Jiraya and Tsunade went their separate ways, leaving the three of them standing alone. "Uhm. If it's okay, I'm going to go home. You know, say goodbye to Ojisan, get my gear ready. I'll meet you there, Sasuke-kun." Sakura said as backed up smiling, before turning around and running towards the flower shop. 

Naruto looked at Sasuke for a few seconds, before glueing himself to Sasuke's arm like Sakura usually did, looking up at Sasuke all doe-eyed and dramatic. "Take me shopping, Sasuke-kun, please?" He begged, adding a small pout and pressing his non-existent chest against Sasuke's arm. 

Sasuke shook his arm and hit Naruto on the head. "Stop that. I hate that, even when it's you!" He said harshly. It took a few seconds to fully register what he just said. The spark of victory in Naruto's eyes meant that he hadn't missed it either. "Hn." He turned around and walked away, not sure how else to preserve the rest of his dignity in this situation. Naruto followed happily as he let his hands trail to the Hitai-ate around his neck. The last few days have been bliss, simply because he had something to grab onto and fulfill his need born from custom to do so. 

"So, where are we going?" Naruto asked, nudging Sasuke with his arm a little. The Uchiha glared at him from the corner of his eyes, but Naruto just kept smiling hopefully. Sasuke sighed. He really did not like this at all. If it had been anyone else, he would have told them to shut up, go by themselves and leave him alone, but like with almost everything, Naruto seemed to evade and conquer that part of him with ease. He sighed again. "Depends on what you need." Why? Why did he cave so easily to Naruto? Wasn't it enough that Naruto completely ignored his privacy night after night? Why did Sasuke feel like it was important to keep Naruto happy and well?

"Well, I have nothing, so I need everything?" Naruto said awkwardly. Ah, yes, that was never discussed with the Hokage. Who was responsible for Naruto's equipment? When it came down to it, even the clothing Naruto owned were not truly his since he got them from Morino, who in turn got them from the department. There was no doubt there would be clothing that fit Naruto's skill and personality a lot better that the boring greyish clothing he was wearing now. Somehow, Sasuke also had trouble imagining Naruto in a standard Jounin outfit and he definity needed colour, so that took Sasuke's wardrobe out of the question... Not that Sasuke would consider letting Naruto wear his clothing, of course not. They would be too big and Naruto would probably... look so... damned cute... in them... No, nope, not going there. A clothing shop it is. Even if Sasuke needed to spend money on it, it was better than finishing that particular thought to its conclusion. 

When they got to the nearest shop, Naruto went running around like a kid in a candy shop, leaving Sasuke standing near the changing rooms looking all broody, but slightly amused. After two hours, a lot of questions fired at Sasuke whether or not the clothing looked good on Naruto, they were at the register with three sets of new clothing, two pairs of shoes and enough underwear and socks to last a week. A few shops later, a travel backpack, a standard first aid set and food pill set and a few other useful items were added to the total. 

Since it was nearing 6 o'clock, they were on their way back, but then Naruto stopped and looked at a small shop at the end of a street. "I know that shop..." He said and walked over. He looked into the window a saw a very familiar daishō displayed in the window. There was no crowd in front of the shop, and the inside looked empty as well. "I can't believe this set is still here. Why was it never sold?" He asked, looking at Sasuke. 

"I don't know. I've never shopped here." 

"Let's go inside!" Naruto chirped, pulling Sasuke's sleeve to get him to follow. The inside of the shop was pretty much the same as that day he pranked the owner. Everything was well taken care off and there wasn't a speck of dust on any of the weapons on display. The owner stepped out from the small back-room and greeted them. "Good day, can I help you with anything?" 

"I was wondering. I've been... away for a while, but I remember that set being in the window when the shop first opened. Why was is never sold? People were lining up just to see it." Naruto asked in a perfectly polite voice and a pleasant smile on his face. 

"That's a masterpiece. It was never meant to be sold. It's just to show the customers what they could expect from my shop." The owner told them.

"So, this is your best work?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. It is my finest work and I don't think I'll ever make something more beautiful than this set." The man said proudly, glancing at the daishō with fondness. "I made them with my brother, but sadly he died a year before I came to Konoha." 

"Oh, that's sad. I'm sorry." Naruto looked down. "But you know, it's also kind of sad that the daishō isn't used at all. Wouldn't you be more proud of it if it were to be used for great things? I bet a masterpiece like that could sway the course of a battle or make the difference between life and death when in the right hands. Image the pride your brother must feel when his greatest work is made even greater with the feats they can perform..." He looked at the daishō as well, along with the owner. 

"Hey, keep your comments to yourself. You don't know my brother or what he wanted!" The owner's temper flared, almost growling at Naruto. Sasuke unconsciously readied himself to intervene by unfolding his arms and letting his hand hover over his weapon pouch. 

Naruto looked at the owner with an impossible innocent look, still smiling. "I know. I didn't mean to insult anyone. It's just, I can only imagine a blacksmith couldn't be more proud then when what he made is used for what it's made for. Just image this daishō becoming a named set with an iron-clad reputation to back it up. It's not that unlikely. It would only be a matter of time." 

"And I suppose you're going to tell me that you are the one to be going to build this reputation?" The owner asked sceptically.

"Oh, Kami, no. I have no experience fighting with swords, only unarmed combat since I wasn't allowed around sharp objects most of the time. I only have some experience with senbon and even that is very limited. I do want to learn, though. Fighting using high quality weapons like what you sell here is like a dream. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing someone dance with a sword, but there is very little chance I'd be able to buy anything any time soon. I'm already leaching off of him enough as we speak." The owner stared at him for a few seconds before glancing at Sasuke. He knew Sasuke, and the blond was slightly familiar to him as well. Sasuke had never been to his shop, but who didn't know the last Uchiha? The thing that bothered him was that the Uchiha was protective of the blond. If Sasuke's reputation was anything to go by, he was supposed to be a cold-hearted bastard, unsocial and with little to no friends. Yet here he was glaring at him for even considering hurting the blond. "But I do wonder." Naruto continued. "Is having your absolute best work in the window and not selling anything that is close to it, isn't that bad for business? Like, people will compare everything in your shop to that set and nothing will be as good as that, so they end up not buying anything, right?"

The owner scowled at that truth. There have been several cases in which people walked out of his shop, because they wanted daishō or equal, but he didn't have that. "Even if I was to sell them, I don't want just anybody to have it. They'd have to prove themselves first. With skill and not with money." The man straightened up to his full length to test and see if Naruto would be intimidated in any way, but the boy didn't so much as blink, just kept smiling politely. "Fine." The blacksmith walked to the back of the shop and came out with a set of boxes after a while. He dropped them in Naruto's arms. "You come back after you mastered these and I'll consider the possibility of thinking about selling those to you." 

Naruto happily smiled up at the man. "Thank you! Oh, and I'm sorry about taking your candy!" He bowed and walked out of the store before the owner had a chance to puzzle the pieces together. 

Sasuke followed him out. "You know, I would have bought you a set if you wanted swords." He said. 

"Oh, I know. But now I have a chance of getting that set. If you would have just bought me a set, then he would never consider selling the set in the window." Naruto said smirking. Sasuke had to admit, it was kind of impressive how quickly Naruto manipulated the owner into not only giving him a free daishō, but also get a promise to be considered to buy the most prized set in the man's collection. It almost made Sasuke worry. Now that he thought about it, manipulation was something Naruto did all the time. Like with Sakura and him cooking the food, or Naruto getting in his bed every night and the way he persuade Sasuke to keep quiet about it. Hell, if you think on it, even his pranks from back in school were a form of manipulating. No wonder Naruto had a knack for Genjutsu. According to Shikamaru Naruto was able to do those when they were still in school, which was a feat in and of itself at that age. 

Speaking of Genjutsu, had Sasuke ever seen Naruto use it and was it something he needed to know about for the mission? During the training sessions in the last few days it hadn't even come up, so maybe Naruto's capabilities of it didn't extent to a battle worthy premise. That, or since there were no Genjutstu users in their little group the skill got overlooked.

Since they had about two hours left, maybe Sasuke needed to look into it a little, to know how it could be used during the mission. "You can do Genjutsu, right? Can you show me to what extend? Maybe it can be useful during the mission." Sasuke asked while walking in the direction of the Uchiha compound. When Naruto didn't answer, Sasuke stopped walking and looked back. The sheer intensity of Naruto's red gleaming eyes and the monstrous grin on his lips made Sasuke immediately regret his request. He had no idea what he just invited upon himself and by the way Naruto omniously stepped closer to him, Sasuke knew he had made a huge mistake. 

Instead of throwing Sasuke into a Genjutsu then and there, Naruto pressed a quick kiss on Sasuke's lips. "Race ya home!" He yelled and disappeared from sight, leaving Sasuke dazed and looking around to see of anyone had seen that. When nothing seemed different and nobody was around, Sasuke rubbed his lips together, quickly licked them and made his was home in a daydreamy haze.


	21. I don't understand

The first thing Naruto did when he saw Shikamaru waiting at gates was jump on his back and fold his arms around Shikamaru's neck. "Haya, Shi, miss me?" He said, before he noticed Choji standing not too far away. "Choji!" He yelled happily while leaning over Shikamaru's head, making Shikamaru wince and cover his ears. 

"Naruto! Don't yell so close to my ear!" Shikamaru yelled back, but he was grinning, much like Choji and Naruto. Choji nodded and hummed in agreement of Shikamaru's warning. 

"Sorry..." He whispered as loudly as possible, grinning from ear to ear. "Too bad Kiba isn't joining us. That would have been amazing!" He had missed them. Don't get him wrong, he had fun with Morino and the others, but he did miss his friends. 

"We can have a reunion once we get back. Let's go eat barbecue or something then." Choji offered happily. Naruto hummed in agreement before Shikamaru shook Naruto off and called them all over. In true Nara fashion, he went on to discuss his plan of action, down to the details of the camp they were to set up during their rests. 

Once everything was clear to everyone, they set out towards their destination. In their run, they used tree branches to propel themselves forwards. The slowest members were up front, setting the pace for the rest so no one would end up over-exhausted. 

The travel was uneventful. Apart from a few shallow conversations, everybody was too focussed on maintaining their speed and balance to do much of anything else. 

During the first break, Naruto sat himself with Shikamaru and Choji, talking about school and the time they had been apart. Naruto told them about the reasons behind his disappearance and Ino tagged into the conversation as well. 

Sasuke watched as Naruto was animatedly recounting things he did in the department that weren't under secrecy. The way Naruto giggled and laughed as he talked brought a smile to Sasuke's face as well. He didn't even register how the others were laughing with him. Sasuke was just focussed on Naruto. A few times their eyes met, which made Naruto smile in a different way than he did to most. It felt special to receive that smile and Sasuke happily returned it.

A tap on his shoulders broke his silent observations. Sakura stood next to him. "Can I talk to you? Away from the camp?" There was an urgency in her tone that made him feel like he had little choice. He looked back at Naruto and they locked eyes for a second. Naruto gave a small nod and continued to ramble on about stuff and things.

Sakura walked him to a small clearing not too far away. She had a serious expression on her face as she looked at Sasuke. "I don't know what has gotten into you." She started, staring him down with something akin to anger in her eyes. "But you have been way too nice to that fiend and I just want you to know that it's disgusting. It almost looks like you care too much about that monster, but I know better. He's charming you. It's a trick, like a Genjutsu or something and I don't think you're thinking clearly." She said in a heated tone.

"What are you even talking about?" Sasuke asked, a little confused for the sudden onslaught.

"You know exactly what I mean! How long has it been since Naruto was released from the T&I department? A few days? And nobody seems to question his intentions at all. Ino told me. People that are sent there are either spies, enemies or traitors. And they aren't send there to reform. They are sent there to confess, give information and then die. And now a boy who got sent there at the age of twelve comes out of there just fine at the age of sixteen? I cannot believe that. It isn't right. Not to mention he told us he killed those villagers before. Helpless, defenseless villagers, including my mother!" Sakura was almost crying, but the tears were more of anger and frustration then of anything else. 

Sasuke looked at her with a troubled expression. "I know that. I've been thinking about that too, but both Hokage signed off on Naruto's freedom and told us there were reasons for what happened. They have no obligations to share that information with us and we have the duty to trust and obey our Kage. And since they told us that he is trustworthy, that should be enough. And really, he isn't that bad to be around. He's random and weird, but he cares about the people around him. Even you. He wants to be friends with you too, you know. He told me that." 

Sakura made a weird undignified noise and she turned away from Sasuke. "How can you be sure of that? He's been at your house for what? Three days? And you're gonna say you know him well enough to just trust him?" She snapped.

"Sakura, at the very least, just keep your personal feelings out of this mission. Hokage-sama also told you this. As for whether or not I choose to trust Naruto is for me to decide and I do trust him. Now I realise this is difficult for you and you have troubles coping, but you trust the rest of us, so just... I don't know, avoid Naruto or something if you have a problem with him." Sasuke told her and walked back towards camp. He felt plainly insulted by her little rampage and didn't want to continue the conversation.

"You know, I see it, right?" She called after him. He stopped and turned around with a raised eyebrow. What could she see? "The way you look at him. It's wrong. If anything that should be a red flag for you. He's poisoning your mind, Sasuke, tricking you into thinking you like him. But you don't. It's unnatural and you should fight what he's doing to you." She narrowed her eyes at Sasuke as he stared back at her, his eyes slightly widened. 

Having lived alone for most of his life and never really having had anyone to talk about things like this made him naive about relationships and he knew it. He felt hurt that Sakura was calling his first crush out as unnatural, even before he himself was sure it even was a crush, but what was worse was that he didn't have any argument against what she said. He didn't know anybody in a same-gender relationship. Hell, he didn't really know anybody in a relationship period, but around town he'd seen couples and he had to agree with Sakura on one thing. There were no same-gender couples he knew about. 

Was it really wrong? He had never even thought about stuff like this before and just assumed his feelings were natural and true, if a little confusing. To be told they weren't, couldn't, be genuine sent his mind into turmoil.

He wanted to rebuild his clan, of course, and he'd need a woman to do that on the count of children, but he never saw himself in an actual relationship with said woman. Not that he had pictured himself with a guy either, but in his mind that was more plausible than a woman. And did wanting children automatically have to mean he could never have something with Naruto? 

Sakura had been his friend for such a long time and she had been a trustworthy companion in the few missions they had together as well. Surely she wouldn't lie to him about something like this.

And what if Naruto was indeed pulling a trick on him? It wouldn't be impossible for Naruto and that thought scared him. 

Sakura walked up to him. "I am telling you this because I care about you. The others probably noticed too and I don't want you to end up hurt. That little kiss he gave you during the spar was probably a spell or something. He's dangerous and you should guard yourself." She walked back to the camp, leaving Sasuke confused and hurt.

He felt his yaw tense as he turned over what she said in his mind. Without any other information, he didn't want to act on what Sakura had said, but her words settled in his mind and festered like an abcess. The words occupied his mind and tightened his stomach into a knot. The more he thought about it, the tighter the knot seemed to become. He felt so insecure and vulnerable right now. And doubting himself didn't make it any better.

He walked back to the camp. The others looked up at him, but he ignored them and leaned against a tree facing away from them. Well, from Naruto mostly. He needed time to digest Sakura's words and he didn't want to be swayed by Naruto's beautiful eyes, because if there was any truth to Sakura's words, he needed to settle his thoughts before confronting the source of his feelings again.

He missed the hurt look on Naruto's face for getting ignored, and the accomplished smirk on Sakura's.

The rest of the day was awkwardly quiet, with Sasuke suddenly ignoring Naruto and Naruto trying to gain Sasuke's attention. 

During the last part of the journey before making camp for the night, Naruto dropped out of formation and ran next to Sasuke for a while. He didn't say anything at first, just lingered next to Sasuke and looking at Sasuke from the corner of his eyes. He didn't like that Sasuke was so cold to him. More than normal, that is. But normally it was because Sasuke was an emotionally supressed arsehole. Right now, however, something was bothering Sasuke, he wasn't hiding it all that well and it felt like he was taking it out on Naruto.

"What's up, Teme?" Naruto asked with a grin, trying to break the silence with a joke. Sasuke remained silent and kept staring ahead. "Oh, come on. You can tell me, you know." Naruto pressed on, nudging Sasuke. 

Sasuke sighed and looked at Naruto. "I'm sorry. I just need some time. Can you give me that?" He said seriously. Naruto stared at Sasuke for a while. He could clearly see something was bothering him and he wanted to question Sasuke further. Before he could, Sakura was in front of them. 

"Naruto, don't bother Sasuke-kun. It's clear he doesn't want you around. Isn't it bad enough that you stay at his house? Give him some space, will you?" She did little to hide her disdain for Naruto and even though Sasuke was very confused right now, he wasn't going to let anyone talk to Naruto in that way. He cared for the blond, even if he didn't know how to place it or if the feeling were right or wrong.

"Sakura, shut up. If someone's bothering me, I can tell them off myself." He felt pissed enough to almost ignore his confusion and follow his feelings, just to piss Sakura off, but thought better of it. He didn't want to be reminded of Sakura each time he would look back at such a moment. Sakura gasped insulted, gave Naruto an angry look like everything that was wrong in the world was his fault, and then she took her place in the formation again.

"Ignore her. You're not a bother. I just... don't know, so I need some time. Okay?" Sasuke said in an almost whisper to Naruto. Naruto nodded and lingered next to Sasuke until the final break was called. Neither said a lot in that time, but they did look at each other from time to time. Somehow, both missed the others gaze as one looked away at the moment the other looked his way. It wasn't on purpose. It just happened like that. 

They had three small tents to share. Sakura and Ino took one, Choji and Shikamaru another, leaving Sasuke and Naruto to share the last tent. Shikamaru delegated the shifts to keep watch by drawing straws. The middle watch would be the hardest and after this initial order was set, it would rotate each night for the rest of the mission. Choji and Shikamaru got first watch, Sasuke and Naruto second, and the third was for Sakura and Ino. 

It was quiet as they sat around the fire and ate something. The sun had set and the sky was clear. The stars shone brightly and the moon was almost full, so it never got really dark.

Sasuke and Naruto were the first to go into their tent in an attempt to get some decent sleep before their shift. Naruto happily borito-ed himself into his sleeping bag and Sasuke lay flat on his back on top of his sleeping bag. It wasn't a cold night and Naruto didn't last long wrapped up like that. Grumbling he unwrapped himself and lay in his belly, leaning on his arms. "Hey, Sasuke..."

"Hnn?" Sasuke sounded sleepy already.

"I don't think I like Sakura much. Is that bad? She says things I don't like and I think she might even be mean to me sometimes. Do you think she is?" Naruto looked at Sasuke as he opened his eyes and turned to face him.

"I don't think she's mean to you. I know she is. What you did, killing her mother, even if that wasn't something you deliberately did, it was still you who did it. Mothers are important to their children, you know?" Sasuke felt a little stupid for thinking Naruto might not know the importance of family, but with Naruto you never knew.

"I see... so like with Dog? Or Cat? It really hurt when Dog betrayed me." 

"Those were the ANBU with you during school, right?" Naruto nodded.

"Maybe I should apologise. Like, really apologise. You think she'd listen?" Naruto sounded insecure. This was one of the first times Sasuke heard Naruto sound insecure and he didn't like it. It didn't fit the randomness that was Naruto.

"When we get back, we can ask her for a talk. I'll stay with you." Sasuke promised. It brought the smile back to Naruto's face and Sasuke felt a little happier for it. Was it really wrong to like Naruto and to want him to be happy? It made Sasuke feel happy, so it couldn't be that wrong, right? "Now, go to sleep. It's going to be a restless night for us." Sasuke laid back down and closed his eyes. He felt Naruto snuggle against his arm next to him, but Sasuke didn't comment on it. Naruto was just shading his eyes, anyway, so it was fine. 

When Shikamaru came to wake them up, they were pretty much in the same position Sasuke had woken up in for the past few days, on his side with Naruto wrapped in his arms and Naruto's face hidden against his chest. Shikamaru smirked and winked at Sasuke, but didn't say anything.

Sasuke poked Naruto a few times to wake him up. Naruto grumbled. "Ugh, already? I wanna sleeeeep..." 

"Come on, we need to get up." Sasuke said giving him another poke and getting out of the tent. Naruto sat up and yawned, and then followed Sasuke out. Sasuke was already talking to Shikamaru and then Shikamaru went into his tent. Choji was nowhere to be seen, so that meant he already was in the tent. 

Sasuke and Naruto sat at the edge of the camp for a while before getting up and walking around. Both of them were fighting sleep, so a little movement would help them stay awake. 

Naruto was walking on a branch a little higher then where Sasuke walked. He had his arms out to the side as he walked the length of it, like he wouldn't be able to maintain his balance if he didn't use his arms. Sasuke watched him silently. He still had Sakura's words mull over and over in his head. "Hey, Naruto, why did you kiss me?" He asked out of the blue and breaking a silence that had lasted almost their entire watch, staring ahead of himself to avoid Naruto's gaze. He could feel Naruto's eyes boring into him. 

"Because I wanted to." Naruto answered without much thought. Sasuke felt a little jealous of the fact that that was all it took for Naruto. He wanted it, so he did it. That was a kind of freedom Sasuke wished he had. Or dared take. Sasuke always needed a reason.

"I know that, but why did you want to?" Sasuke looked up at Naruto with a serious expression on his face. Naruto sat down on the branch and let himself fall backwards so he was face to face with Sasuke. 

"Because I like you. Was it wrong?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Well, no, but..." Sasuke was avoiding eye contact, something Naruto didn't like. Eye contact was a way to read someone, so if they looked away, you missed too much.

"You don't like me?" He asked a bit sad. He was sure Sasuke liked him at least a little. Was he wrong?

"It's not that." Sasuke looked back at him apologetically. "But usually people have a relationship before doing stuff like that."

"We don't have a relationship?" Naruto was confused. They knew each other. They liked each other. Wasn't that a relationship? Did Sasuke mean something else?

"N-no, we're friends." Sasuke stuttered. He felt awkward and a bit ashamed. He did like Naruto, but...

"Friends isn't a relationship? But I like you and you like me. Isn't that enough?" If both of them wanted it, then what else was there?

"Maybe, but we're also both guys." Sasuke said looking away again. 

"And that is an issue, because..?" Naruto couldn't grasp what that had anything to do with it. Even his ancient immortal self didn't quite grasp that gender should make a difference when it came down to feelings. If you feel it, act on it. If the other also has feelings, even better, let it evolve into something greater. Gender had nothing to do with it.

"Relationships are supposed to be between a man and a woman, not two men or two women." Sasuke mumbled. Truth be told, he was just grasping at excuses. He was just feeling confused over what Sakura had told him. If it really was something that was unnatural, then they had no chance for this to work, if this even was something. He wanted it to be, but was afraid it couldn't be. That only brought hurt and he didn't want to hurt. Yet here he was, hurting someone to prevent hurt to himself and it hurt.

"I don't understand. What does that matter? We like each other. I like kissing you and you like being kissed by me. What's the difference? What does it matter?" 

"It just does. I don't know... I don't know any other two men in a relationship. It's unnatural." He snapped, echoing Sakura's words. With that, Sasuke walked away, leaving Naruto hanging upside down and staring after him.

Naruto dropped himself and sat cross legged on the ground looking down. "I don't understand..." He muttered, clasping a hand on his chest over his heart. "That hurt. Why does it hurt?" Naruto looked in the direction Sasuke disappeared in as he felt tears burning in his eyes. "Jerk."


	22. Confrontation

Awkwardness aside, their journey was quick. With Sakura trying to talk to Sasuke, Sasuke ignoring her, and Naruto and Sasuke ignoring each other, the group felt disjointed. Sasuke was looking miserable and Naruto looked angry. Naruto glared at Sasuke from time to time. The red gleam shone dangerously bright, making Sasuke falter in his step every time the eyes settled on him. 

"Alright, everyone, we are just shy of a mile from our target's last known position. Get ready." Shikamaru said to the group. Everyone nodded and did as told. Their formation shifted so they would be able to engage in two groups when they split up. The plan was to approach from two sides at the same time and pull Sasori and Deidera apart so they could divide their strengths. Granted, it divided them as well, but three on one was a more controllable fight then six on two. The added advantage was for them that they didn't need to take into account two unique skill sets and they would be able to focus on one at the time. 

The first thing they saw of their targets were a hunched figure moving slow and an energetic blond talking away next to him like he didn't have a care in the world. While they walked, the blond was moulding clay in his hands and every now and then, he showed what he made to the other before crushing the figurine again and reshaping it. 

Shikamaru raised his hand to signal their split-up, but before he could finish his movement, Sasori stopped walking. "Come out, little Shinobi." Sasori called out. His voice was mechanical and unnatural. Shikamaru finished the few hand signs, indicating for Ino and Choji to follow him, forming team alpha, leaving Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto behind as team beta. Having been discovered, Shikamaru quickly adapted his strategy. Since three man cells were the most used format in a team, Shikamaru hoped the other three would go unnoticed by revealing team alpha. They jumped out, ready in their battle stances.

"Sasori-dono, who are there flies, un?" The blond said. Having named Sasori, it meant he was Deidera. 

"Konoha nin, it would seem." Sasori answered calmly.

"You want me to handle them, un?" 

Sasori turned his attention to the point where Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were. "No, I'll take these on. You take the stragglers hiding over there." Sasori extended a hand. The movement looked unnatural, like his voice was. 

"Alright, Sasori-dono, un!" He immediately moved towards the indicated direction. Shikamaru, Ino and Choji made no effort in stopping him, trusting the others to take care of Deidera and engaged Sasori. 

Team beta just barely caught a glimpse of Sasori calling forth his puppets before a loud explosion went off near them, forcing them to retreat to a different area. It was past a cliff, taking away their view of the others battle. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and wasted no time in rushing Deidera. Deidera moved away from him, trying to keep distance in order or be able to do his Jutsu. Deidera made a clay bird and jumped on its back to create the distance he needed. 

Using the cliff wall, Sasuke ran up so he could reach Deidera with a jump. He swiped his fist at Deidera's face, but Deidera managed to avoid the hit. The momentum carried Sasuke to the tail end of the bird, but he managed to stay on it. Again he went in for the punch, followed by quick kicks and punches. Deidera didn't seem very well equipped to handle the hand-to-hand combat and just blocked without relatialting. 

Suddenly Deidera stepped back, gave a mocking grin to Sasuke and jumped off the bird. Sasuke realised a little too late his feet were sunk into the clay bird and he were now stuck. Once Deidera was out of range, he exploded his bird, along with Sasuke. Sasuke was hit back to end near the team and recovered to look only slightly burned. Sakura gasped and moved to help Sasuke. Naruto greeted him with a giggle and Sasuke was met with a happy blue eye. "That was hot, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed grinning. "Literally."

Sasuke was about to say something back when a small clay figurine landed between them and blew them apart. Sharp pieces of rock made the explosion that much more dangerous and all three of them took damage from it, Naruto ending up with the biggest injury as a Kunai-sized rock shard dug itself into his abdomen. He winced and pulled the rock right back out. It was followed by a gush of blood and moving was very painful. Enough so for Naruto to recognise he was indeed injured, which didn't happen often. Sakura was knocked back too, small shards of stone dug into her skin, but she only got superficial cuts. Sasuke blocked most scrap with his arms, leaving him a bit bruised, but otherwise unharmed. 

Again, it seemed to be just Sasuke to engage Deidera. Sakura stood at the side lines, gasping at dangerous moments and generally seeming upset to see Sasuke in danger, but she failed to act on it. Granted, she was specialising in Medical Jutsu and thus not inclined to enter actual combat, but instead of focussing on Naruto's injury like a medic should do, she was too busy being focussed on the battle and what was happening to Sasuke. Case and point was made when Naruto meandered over to Sakura and sat his arse down right next to her and she didn't even so much as look at him. Naruto's eyes focussed on the battle. Despite his grin and laid back attitude, he was focussed and took in everything that was happening. 

"You know, my side stings." He said casually. Sakura looked down on him and for the first time she noticed he had a serious injury. She knew she had to act, had a moral obligation to do so, but hated the idea of helping the killer of her mother and the one that stole Sasuke away from her. She glared down at him, conflicted, but her moral compass won over her grudge. "Stand up." She barked and so he did. 

She yanked his shirt up, ignored the fact that it made Naruto wince in pain. She put in minimum effort, just enough to stop the bleeding, but to her surprise the wound closed at incredible speed with little effort from her. When she was satisfied the injury wouldn't be cause of death anymore, she stopped. "I'll leave it at that. I have to conserve Chakra in case anyone needs my help." She said, retracting her hands like she had been touching something disgusting. Naruto rolled his eyes, but didn't comment. At least she showed some compassion, even if it was professional responsibility. 

Sasuke was struggling to keep the battle in melee range. Deidera used his clay to create and keep distance, putting Sasuke in a constant disadvantage. When he missed yet another opening, he cursed, but a flash of blond appeared behind Deidera, catching Deidera off guard. Naruto kneed him in the back, sending him back in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke caught the incoming chance and caught Deidera in the stomach with a fist. Deidera doubled over and stumbled backwards before recovering and jumping away again. 

"Finally, I thought you weren't going to help at all or something." Sasuke called to Naruto.

"Well, you're an ass so that was the general idea." Naruto said, sticking out his tongue. "But I can't let that pretty face get damaged, so..." With a grin and a wink Naruto turned his attention back to Deidera. Sasuke stared at Naruto feeling guilty. He never meant to hurt Naruto, he just didn't know what to do with his feelings, so pushing them away was the easiest answer. Yeah, he's stupid like that. He needed to apologise and ignore Sakura. After a day of contemplating, he didn't even understand why he ever listened to her in the first place. Kami knows he never listened to her about anything else.

Then there was that wink and smile from Shikamaru. He knew. Something like this wouldn't be missed by Shikamaru and he seemed to have no problems at all with it, also off-setting the idea planted in his mind by Sakura. Now Sasuke needed to find a way to make up without too obviously admitting he was in the wrong.

While Sasuke was distracted by his thoughts, Naruto was having the time of life yelling weird things and taunts at Deidera, avoiding the bombs with childish ease, all the while giggling. Deidera didn't handle the fact that Naruto was making light work of his art all that well. He became erratic, chucking bigger and bigger pieces of clay at Naruto without caring for any damages caused or Chakra spent. 

To avoid the next explosion, Naruto jumped backwards past Sasuke. At the same moment, Deidera crash-landed a big clay bird almost directly at Sasuke's feet. 

Sasuke was thrown back like a ragdoll by the explosion, his back hitting the rock-face of the cliff hard enough to leave an indent. Naruto landed not three feet away, unharmed and laughing like the maniac he was at Sasuke. "Did you notice the explosions explode? You should try to avoid them." Naruto said dryly, raising an eyebrow. He held out his hand, which Sasuke grabbed after a short moment, and Naruto pulled Sasuke out of the dent. 

Sasuke's head was throbbing from the pain of the impact and he couldn't help but feel Naruto let him hit the cliff on purpose because he was angry with Sasuke. "Can you please start taking this seriously?" He snapped at Naruto. It seemed to him like Naruto hadn't taken any of this seriously yet, not even when Naruto himself got stabbed right through his abdomen with the rock. 

"Right, right, life and death, pain, danger. I will. I am." Naruto nodded as he spoke. His eyes drifted from Sasuke to Deidara, his eyes changing from one happily blue to one dangerously red to both dull in a way not many people had seen before. The change was usually so sudden it looked to be instant, but this was a slow and deliberate change, forced, and at the request of Sasuke. Naruto didn't seem to struggle with it per se, but it did take effort and concentration. It was scary to watch, like Naruto was getting possesed or something. It wasn't just his eyes. His whole body changed from relaxed and laid back, to a proud stance with a straight back. The very aura around him changed.

Deidera visibly froze underneath the cold gaze that settled on him. Slowly, an evil smirk crawled onto Naruto's face. He set off at a run, faster then he had all battle, catching Deidera by surprise. The momentum with which Naruto hit Deidera backwards was enough to make Deidera end up on the ground. Naruto followed through with his movement, keeping up with Deidera up to the moment Deidera came to a halt. 

Naruto stood looking down on Deidera, pinning Deidera with the intensity and intent behind the gaze. The silent threat of death was thick in the air and it felt like just Naruto's mere presence was enough to make breathing difficult. "You are easily read." Naruto said in a cold, monotone voice. He cocked his head. "I will crush you." There was no passion or any emotion behind the statement and it was just that, a statement of a fact.

Deidera scrambled back in an attempt to gain some distance again. Even among the other Akatsuki members he hadn't felt such a cold presence, but the moment Naruto started channeling his red Chakra, Deidera's eyes turned greedy. "You're the Konoha Jinchuuriki! We've been looking for you. Where have they hidden you all those years, un?" His voice held a little victory. Naruto figured Deidera might find himself in good graces with the other members if he could bring back information on Naruto, or even better, Naruto himself. The kindle of hope was enough to pull Deidera past the ominous presence and he got up quickly. 

Naruto answered with nothing but a calculated stare, giving his opponent no room to settle into his new-found vigor. He ran at Deidera, collecting Chakra in a tight ball in his hand. It looked toxic with the way the red and blue Chakra mixed into a purple so deep it looked black. Slivers of red and blue Chakra cried out of the ball, burning the ground where it dropped. The Bijudama Sasuke had seen before paled in comparison to this one. It felt to Sasuke like the intent behind this Bijudama was purely to kill, while with Jiraya it had just been a quick solution with no malicious intent.

Naruto leaned forward and started to run. Deidera was standing his ground, rapidly forming a large amount of clay in his hands. He dropped the clay and jumped back himself and triggered the explosion when Naruto was about to jump over it. The explosion managed to blast Naruto back, but at the same moment he had launched the Bijudama. The force of the explosion only made it hurl towards Deidera faster.

The impact resulted in an explosion shaming anything Deidera had ever made. The crater stretched far and wide and Deidera had barely escaped it on his clay bird. He had sustained considerable damage and had multiple bleeding gashes covering his body. He didn't have time to regain his barings as Naruto appeared behind him in a flash. Naruto grabbed his hand and twisted into a unnatural position, crushing the bones in his hand into small shards. With the help of his knee, Naruto proceeded to bend Deidera's forearm at a point that should never bend, rendering one of Deidera's arms completely useless while Deidera screamed in utter agony. The crushed bones stuck out of the skin at several places.

In a panic, Deidera dropped himself from his bird and exploded it before he himself was out of range, desperate to at least do some damage to Naruto. When Deidera saw something fall straight down from the explosion, smirked and managed to land on his feet. "Nothing left of him. Now it's your turn, un." He said turning his attention back to Sasuke. To his surprise, Sasuke returned his smirk and ran straight for Deidera. In his run he gathered Chakra in the palm of his hand. It sizzled and chirped as it grew more intense, sparks escaping from his palm.

Deidera wanted to jump back, but noticed too late that he couldn't. As he stepped back he hit a wall of muscles that quickly locked him into place, leaving nowhere for him to go. Sasuke made sure the Chidori didn't sink any further into Deidera's soft abdomen than was necessary to incapacitate Deidera for good, avoiding bringing unnecessary damages to Naruto. 

Naruto dropped the lifeless body quickly after feeling the electric energy from the Chidori run through his arms. "Sasuke!" He said in a whiny tone. "That felt weird. I don't like it." He complained, flailing his arms around to shake the feeling. He was pouting as he looked at Sasuke. "You could have told me it would feel weird. It was like an electric shock, but way, waaay worse!" Nauto was still pouting and flexing his hands to get the feeling back in them when Sasuke stepped closer to him. Sasuke suddenly had the feeling he was talking to a child, energetic and emotional, the complete opposite of the coldness from before.

Sasuke followed his gut and smiled at him and placed a hand on Naruto's head, ruffling his hair. "I'm sorry." He said and Naruto looked up at him with big eyes. "I should have warned you. But you did a great job!" He said smiling. Watching Naruto's eyes, both of them, light up happily made Sasuke's day. 

"Thanks! Oh, but don't ask me to be serious like that again! I don't like being like that. It's so tiring and it feels so empty!" Naruto glomped Sasuke. "And you're still an ass for yesterday." He added in a mumble as he hid his face against Sasuke's chest. After a second of doubt, Sasuke closed his arms around Naruto. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that too. I do like you." Sasuke paused for a second. He wanted to say more, but this wasn't the time. At the very least they had to make sure the other team wasn't in trouble. "Let's talk when we get home." Naruto nodded against his chest and leaned into Sasuke a little heavier.

"Sasuke!" Sasuke yelled, running towards them. "Are you hurt? Is that your blood?" She skidded to a halt next to them, trying to push Naruto out of the way, but Sasuke's glare made her give up her attempts. A flinch from Naruto made her realise it was Naruto that was slowly forming a puddle of blood at their feet. 

Right at the moment they both realised, Naruto leaned even heavier against Sasuke, who had to actually keep him up at this point. Sasuke slowly lowered them down so they were both seated. After a quick evaluation and a few minutes of Sakura's Medical Jutsu the wounds were closed. They didn't seem to be serious enough to lose strength the way Naruto had just done, but since he just told Sasuke the forced switch was tiring they assumed that was the cause. They couldn't ask, because Naruto was soundly asleep.


	23. Team Alpha

After hiding the sleeping Naruto in some bushes nearby, Sasuke and Sakura made their way back towards team alpha. Sasuke glanced back worriedly at Naruto. He didn't like the idea of leaving an unconscious team member behind, even if the biggest direct threat was taken care off. When Sasuke noticed Sakura was about to say something. "Save it. I don't care." He said to her. He was mad at her. She was so irresponsible as a medic towards Naruto!

"But Sasuke-kun, you don't even know what I wanted to say..." Sakura said dramatically.

Sasuke stopped and stopped Sakura as well by holding up his hand in front of her. "I already told you. If you can't get along on a personal level, at least have the decency to do so on a professional level. Your resentment towards Naruto is causing problems for the mission. In the very least you should be aware of that. Naruto was injured. Twice. And both times you ignored it in favour of another teammate due to personal feelings. If this is how you handle teamwork, then I'll be requesting you to be taken off the team. If you had been one of my ANBU subordinates, I would suspend you for that shit you just pulled!" Somehow, he kept an even voice, but it was far from calm.

"Oh, that's rich coming from you." Sakura countered. "Do you even notice how obsessed you act around Naruto? I'm not the only one forgetting the rest of the team in favour of my feelings!" Sasuke was completely unfair right now, according to Sakura. The monster didn't die, so they should happy with just that.

Sasuke growled. "Nothing I did threw the team off balance. You deliberately went out of your way to tell me something that would. It caused a lot of shit and this all could have ended a lot worse!"

"I see. So you showing your feelings, which was hurting me, is fine. Me telling you how I'm feeling, and I'm doing something wrong?" She sneered. "Why can't you see I love you, Sasuke-kun? We can be happy together! Why can't you try to answer my love?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. This was an issue that kept coming up time and time again between them. The girl just didn't get the message. At least Ino gave up after he clearly rejected her. "I did answer you, Sakura. It's you that can't accept 'no' as an answer." Sasuke turned around and ran towards where they were separated from team alpha, leaving Sakura standing alone, hugging herself and near tears. He needed to get away from her before he ended up hurting her. And right now, he didn't care what she did, as long as she didn't get in his way right now.

"Sasuke-kun, you're so cruel..." She whispered, staring after him. She stood there fighting her tears for a while before she turned her attention back in the direction they had just come from as her sadness turned into anger. If Sasuke was too stubborn to listen to her, then maybe she needed to eliminate the cause of his misguided feelings and show him she is the only one for him instead of trying to convince him directly...

Sasuke arrived and joined team alpha alone. From a hiding spot he took in the battlefield. Ino lay on her back a little away from the battle and she looked gently placed. No real surprise there, since that was the main Jutsu she used. Choji was keeping himself up against some rocks and looked pretty beat up, many shattered puppets around him. Shikamaru had a hold on what looked like a young boy, teenager at the most, but Shikamaru didn't have any options for attack as long as he was holding Sasori with his shadow. Right now it looked like he was trying to buy time so Choji had a moment to recover, but it seemed Choji wasn't pulling himself back together all too well. All and all it looked like they had done well and were struggling with the last part of the battle, which was usually resolved by Ino's Jutsu. That left the question, why had Ino not taken over Sasori's mind? If she missed, it only took a few minutes for her to return to her body, so she must have used it not too long ago. But missing was very unlikely if Shikamaru had Sasori in his shadow.

Sasuke jumped out next to Shikamaru. "What's the situation?" He asked.

Shikamaru glanced at him from the corner of his eyes but quickly focussed back on Sasori. "Choji took out the puppets with his Nikudan Sensha (Human boulder), allowing me to grab hold Sasori. There are strings everywhere over the battlefield. The strings are so tight they cut through everything. That's why Choji is out. He couldn't get through the wires and used Nikudan Sensha too many times, so he's near his max. Ino's Shinenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique) didn't work, but I'm not sure why."

Sasuke looked at the battlefield again and now that Shikamaru had mentioned it, he did indeed see the gleam of light at it caught on the wires that covered the area like spider webs. They were everywhere. He touched the nearest wire and immediately it cut into his finger, drawing a few drops of blood. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and took the situation in again. He saw the blazing Chakra running through the wires and he saw where they connected to. "The wires run to his heart, not his hands. There's something else wrong. His Chakra flow is off... More like, it isn't there besides the Chakra from his heart." He told Shikamaru.

Shikamaru nodded and winced. The hold on Sasori was beginning to take its toll om him and even though it didn't really look like it, Sasori was putting up a strong fight against his hold. As his Chakra was slowly depleting, so was the time he had to think of something. There was a possibility Ino might wake up before he completely ran out, but that still felt his plan in ruins. "Sasuke, start cutting wires. Maybe there is enough time for you to get to him before I'm completely out. Aim for the heart." Sasuke nodded.

He pulled out a kunai and attempted to cut the first wires. The wires resisted and even managed to dull the edge of kunai. A small current of chakra managed to run through the kunai, giving off a burning sensation that made Sasuke quickly snap hands back. He dropped the dulled kunai and left it smoking on the ground. Okay, then, if that's what it is, then let's beat fire with fire.

Sasuke jumped back a few feet while doing some quick hand signs. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire release: Fireball Jutsu)!" It might be one of the first Jutsus he had ever learned, but it was also one of the most efficient ones he knew for burning stuff down. The large fireball covered most of the area. Within the centre of the fire wires snapped with loud pings, like the strings of a piano snapping, unable to resist the intense heat. It was almost musical with the way they snapped one by one.

Once the fire and smoke cleared, they saw more than half the wires were gone. The length of the wires left lay limp in front of Sasori. Sasori was glaring at the cut wires, but still unable to move. Sasuke did another Goukakyuu no Jutsu, burning away most of the wires and with that clearing a path for him to reach Sasori without resistance.

Carefully Sasuke walked over to Sasori, aware of the fact that a puppet master was able to pull strings even when they were mostly incapacitated. After all, even a twitch of a finger could control a puppet and a flare in Chakra could mean a puppet snapping like a trap. He had only once fought a Puppet Master before and that was a lesson not soon forgotten. His team had been almost wiped if it hadn't been for the last-minute support they got. 

Once he stood in front of Sasori, he readied a kunai again, gripping it tight in his hand. No matter how often he did this, there was always something that made him resent the act. Having to do it like this, without a fight and without his opponent in a condition to defend himself, always felt more like an execution, a cold-blooded murder, that the end of a battle. 

Sasori struggled to move his jaw trying to saw something, but Sasuke ignored it. A last wish or last words they'd never know. Without remorse he plunged the kunai through the Kanji on Sasori's chest, pushing it in as far as he could before he quickly pulled it out again. There wasn't even a scream. Just silent disbelief as Sasori struggled to look down, to see the damage done, but Shikamaru still hadn't released his grip and Sasori never was able to see the injury that killed him.

Sasori's body moved in small, involuntary twitches. Sasuke jumped back to next to Shikamaru and watched the face and body of Sasori crack and become puppet-like. His eyes turned dull and static, hinges appeared all over his body along with seams and the cylinder in his chest quivered, before falling on the ground in front of Sasori. 

Shikamaru finally fully released his Jutsu and let himself fall back, breathing a little heavy. After catching his breath, he made his way to Ino, sitting her up and checking to see if she was alright. He shook her a little, which seemed to help pull her back, because she started moving and soon was able to sit on her own, albeit a little dazed.

Choji joined them, staggering a little as he made his way over. "So, he was a puppet?" He asked.

"Seems like it. I guess only his heart was real." Shikamaru said. "That would also explain why Ino missed. There was no eye contact."

"It was so weird. I was so sure it went right and then it missed, it's like falling into an eternal black abyss..." Ino had trouble shaking the feeling. It was never a good thing to miss, but the element of surprise added to it made the whole sensation a lot worse.

"So, what do we do now?" Choji asked.

"We take the heart and the puppet with us using seals. We're also taking Deidera's head. Then, back to Konoha. Mission complete." Sasuke answered. There was little in his voice that indicated he was talking about decapitation and taking body parts with him. It was more like rounding up a business meeting. Shikamaru, Choji and Ino never joined ANBU, and thus never had any missions that were just to plainly hunt people down, so for them it seemed cruel and ruthless, where for Sasuke it had become almost normal. "Don't worry, I'll do that part." Sasuke said when he noticed the looks on their faces. He grabbed two scrolls and quickly sealed the puppet and the heart away, tucking the scrolls back into a pouch. "Now, let's get back to the others. Naruto is out, so we need to make sure he's alright."

"What about Sakura?" Ino asked, noticing the absence of the pseudo-sister.

"I don't know. We had an argument, because she didn't make any effort to help Naruto when he was injured. I called her out on it." Sasuke said darkly. He didn't feel like delving any deeper into it. He just wanted to make sure his entire team was fine, so they needed to get to Naruto.

When they were about half way back, a sudden bloodcurdling scream echoed through the air, stopping them all in their tracks. Just by the sound of the scream, they couldn't make out whether it was Sakura who screamed or Naruto, but it definitely came from the direction Sasuke had come from. After a shared look, they doubled their speed to get back to the others.

The scene they found didn't get them much more answers. Sakura lay on her side writhing and twisting next to the spot where Sasuke had hidden Naruto, but Naruto was gone. Ino hurried over to Sakura and soon the green glow of medical Jutsu lit up her face. After a few moments of searching, she let it die down again. "She doesn't have any injuries." She concluded, looking down worried at Sakura. "I don't understand what would cause her such pain. It's not physical, at least." Ino looked around a bit lost, like she was hoping to find the answer somewhere around her. Her eyes stopped on a splotch of blood a few feet away, followed by another. And another. And another... A trail of blood was leading away from the group.

"I'm looking for Naruto." Sasuke said, and walked away, following the blood.

"I'll join you. Choji, you stay with Ino and Sakura." Shikamaru said. Choji nodded and went to stand a little nearer to the girls.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan again, scanning the surrounding. It didn't take a lot of time for him to spot the erratic presence of Naruto's Chakra. Sasuke pointed them in the right direction and moved to the area. They ran for a quarter of a mile when the spotted Naruto slumped sideways against a tree. Sasuke landed a little distance away behind Naruto. "Naruto..." He said, but there was no response. Not even a twitch. He could see Naruto breath it was laboured and unsteady, but he was breathing. Sasuke took a step closer and noticed there was a fair amount of blood collected underneath Naruto. The splotches of blood leading to Naruto made it clear that Naruto was the one who had been bleeding, taking away the idea of an unknown enemy being fought off.

"Naruto..." Sasuke said again, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. The light pressure was enough to make Naruto fall over. In response, Sasuke caught him and held him up.

"Sasuke... I..." Naruto said. His voice held little strength. When Sasuke moved him so he would be on his back, he winced visibly and grabbed Sasuke's arm for support. "I don't think Sakura likes me at all..." He said seriously. Shikamaru walked up to them as well and while Sasuke kept Naruto steady, Shikamaru pulled up Naruto's blood-soaked shirt. Three clearly visible stab wounds in three vital spots decorated his chest. They were meticulously placed, with knowledge of vital spots on the human body. His heart, his right lung and his stomach were perforated and Shikamaru didn't understand how Naruto was not only still alive, but also conscious and talking.

"Naruto, focus, what happened?" Sasuke asked with urgency. Naruto closed his eyes for a second and let out a pained groan. He blinked his eyes open again, clearly struggling to focus on his surroundings. "Sakura..." He choked out.

Neither Shikamaru nor Sasuke knew how to respond to that one. Yes, Sakura's dislike for Naruto bordered on hatred, but to actually go so far as to stab him, that was just too much to grasp. Not to mention it was treason unless she had a truly legitimate reason for it, but they already knew there wasn't one.

"Help him onto my back, we need to get to Ino." Sasuke said. They'd have time later to figure out what the Hell happened after Sasuke left Sakura behind to go help team alpha.


	24. Not Again

Naruto woke up to see Sakura looming over him. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and she still had wet tear marks over her cheeks. She was glaring down at him, clear anger on her face. 

Naruto moved to get up, but Sakura pushed him back on his back, a hand in his shoulder. Naruto was still a bit sapped of strength from the little stunt from before, so he didn't really have the strength to go against her Chakra enhanced strength at the moment. Not that he really struggled. She was his teammate and medic after all. "Do you even know what you have done?" She sneered down on him. Naruto cocked his head to the side. Other than the cooking, he hadn't done anything to her for her to be angry about. Not deliberately anyway. He wondered what made her so upset.

"You took everything from me!" She yelled, loud enough to make him wince. "I hate you! I wish they had kept you locked up until you died, but instead they expect me to make nice with the murderer of my mother!" She seethed and had enough anger in her voice she tripped over her words. 

Naruto gaped at her, unsure what to do in this situation. Despite everything, full-on confrontations wasn't something he had dealt with much and certainly not without him directly provoking it with a playful element to it. With a smirk he thought back on the pranks he pulled over the years. 

"You're not even sorry! Are you even capable of remorse? Or compassion?" Sakura shouted, misreading his smirk as cockiness for killing her mother.

"Sakura, I..." he started. She slammed her fist into the ground right next to him, creating a small crater next to him and leaned her weight onto his chest. "Shut up! I don't need to hear your lies! Your manipulations! I remember that lie you planted in my mind. My mother would never hurt a child. You just wanted me to think that and doubt my mother! That's so cruel, I..." She stopped screaming to stifle a sob as angry bitter tears ran down her face. 

"That was not a lie!" Naruto growled back. He is not a liar. He has never been nor will he ever will be a liar!

"Yes, it was! It can't be anything else. I will not let your lies dirty the memories I have of my mother!" 

"I do not lie." Naruto replied, almost calmly. He knew the truth and that the people that mattered believed him.

"Than why did you lie to Sasuke? Made him think he cares about you? He doesn't. He loves me and you're manipulating his feelings for me into something grotesque towards you! You are stealing everything from me!" She was hysterical at this point. With how loud she was screaming it was a miracle her voice didn't give out. 

Naruto stared up at her confused. He had never seen Sasuke act affectionate towards Sakura, but then again he had been locked away for four years, so who knew what happened in those years? "I like Sasuke. I think he likes me. That's all. No need to manipulate anyone. It just is." He said, but his words didn't reach her. She slammed her fist down again, aiming straight for his head. He caught her wrist, slowing her descent just enough for him to move his head out of the way. Her fist dug another small crater in the ground.

He used her disbalance from the punch to throw her off of him and scrambled to his feet, struggling to maintain his balance as his mind still felt foggy. She stood up as well with a growl and didn't waste any time in charging at Naruto again. 

Sakura's fist went right for his face again, but it was slowed and clumsy from her anger. With relative ease Naruto was able to duck underneath the punch and deliver an uppercut into her diaphragm in defence. 

She stumbled back and coughed, the air knocked out of her. After a few deep breath she regained herself. Naruto didn't attack. He didn't want to fight her. Not seriously like this.

A smirk made its way onto Sakura's face. "The Hokage will know about this." She hissed. "Attacking a team member. I bet they'll lock you right back up."

Naruto's eyes widened. He didn't want to go back. He loved Morino and he didn't dislike his time in the department, but the idea of being back in the darkness, restricted in Chakra and in freedom, and hidden away from everything and everyone, it was too much after the freedom he tasted now.

Sakura saw a chance in his momentary panic and ran at him with a Kunai in hand. With surgical precision she pierced him between the fourth and fifth rib, just off center to his left of his sternum. It dug deep, damaging his heart, but not fatally so by mere millimeters.

Sakura growled in frustration for missing the fatal hit. She pulled the Kunai out without regard for the consequences and slammed it right back into him again on the right side of his sternum, hitting her goal and penetrating his right lung. Naruto didn't even get the chance to react to the first stab when then the second one was already deeply imbedded into his lung, the pain barely settling in his mind, but slowly registering at full force. The membrane around his lung lost its vacuum, making his long collapse and, along with the pain, made it strainiously difficult to breath for Naruto. He couldn't even scream in pain because of the lack of air, just short gasps of breath.

Again the Kunai was pulled out of him and he couldn't do much more than stumble back a few steps. Sakura easily matched his stumble and plunged the Kunai into him for a third time, cutting into him just below his sternum in the centre of his stomach. It cut his liver, but because Naruto found the strength to jump back, it thankfully didn't cut into his stomach to release a flood of stomach acid into his soft underbelly. 

He did the only thing he could think of so fast to get her to stop attacking him. He knew it would count as attacking a team member, but he really didn't have much choice if he wanted the assault to end. He raised his gaze and met Sakura's eyes. For a moment, time froze for both as Naruto pressed a nightmare into Sakura's mind without his usual restraints on it. The secret to his Genjutsu had always been that the mind of the victim determined the vision, but Naruto always held it back. Without restraint, which was the easiest way for him to cast it and also the quickest way, the living nightmare would just eat away at the fears of that person until nothing was left in their mind but sheer terror. 

Sakura stood dazed for a few seconds before she let out a blood curdling scream that echoed through the area. She collapsed, her muscles twitched involuntary, oblivious to world around her as her mind started processing her greatest fears over and over again, producing scenes of pure terror for her.

Naruto ran away. He didn't want to be locked away again. He didn't want to see Jiji and Cat disappointed or Morino angry with him. He also didn't want to be near Sakura anymore. 

Naruto couldn't focus. He didn't know what direction he was wandering in, but he knew he started his run quickly and was slowing down now. Somehow, he had no trouble navigating through the thick underbrush of the nearby woods. It was his own feet that felt like they weren't obeying him anymore. His sight blurred in and out of focus as well, making him sway in his step.

A coughing fit forced him down. He leaned against a tree and let himself sink to his knees. He wondered what would happen to him now. Maybe Jiji would get him another home again? Was there a deeper, darker hole to tuck him away in then the department? Probably, but not within Konoha.

He heard feet behind him and some muffled words, but couldn't make them out. The world tilted and he was suddenly facing the bright blue sky, only interrupted by black hair on a pale face. He couldn't really make out the features, but he was certain it was Sasuke. "Sasuke... I..." Even his own voice sounded distorted and far away and he wasn't sure if his words came out the right way. "I don't think Sakura likes me at all..." That's not what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Sasuke it wasn't his fault, that she attacked first and that he didn't want to be locked away again. Not again. 

There was movement around him that he couldn't comprehend. It was only when hands held him down that he realised he had been shaking. His wounds burned more harshly when his shirt was removed and the cold air bit into the open skin. 

"Naruto, focus, what happened?" Sasuke. He heard Sasuke. Naruto tried to move so he could see Sasuke's face, but the pain forced his eyes close, leaving him in a moment of darkness. But Sasuke wanted an answer and Naruto wanted to give an answer. He forced his eyes open, blinking a few times in an attempt to focus on his surroundings, but he didn't succeed. "Sakura..." He managed to get out, hoping it was clear enough for Sasuke to understand what he said.

Sasuke said something again, but it wasn't directed at him, so he didn't register it properly. Shortly after he was moved, and the moving didn't stop. It felt like the movement was ripping his wounds open further and his front, along with whatever was in front of him, was slowly soaking in a renewed wave of blood. It felt hot and lulled Naruto into a state of comfort. If it wasn't for the pain, he could have slept. He wanted to sleep. Just close his eyes. Just for a little while.

He felt tapping on his shoulder. "Stay awake, Naruto." A voice said. It wasn't Sasuke. Shikamaru? He forced his eyes open, but he couldn't make out anything. "That's good, Naruto, just stay awake for me. Don't fall asleep." Shikamaru said as he kept a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Why wasn't he allowed to sleep? He was so tired. 

Shikamaru kept talking to him and prodding him each time he closed his eyes, but that didn't make it easier to stay awake. He wanted to. If shikamaru asked, then it must be important, but it was so difficult.

He sank into a moment of blackness. "Naruto! Eyes open!" Now, that voice was Sasuke's. It was so close, Naruto felt like Sasuke was talking directly next to him. He didn't sound angry, just very urgent, just like Shikamaru sounded. 

Naruto blinked a few times and shifted to get more comfortable. He felt a pang of pain run through him. They could shake and call out to him all they wanted, but it wasn't going to keep him awake for a lot longer. 

Suddenly he fell, but his landing was gentle, supported by hands. Immediately a warm glow filled his mind. It was soothing in a way that didn't press him further into sleep. Instead, it felt like it gave him energy. His muddled mind gained space to work again. The bliss of the pain slowly disappearing finally allowed him to relax a little and he let out a content sigh. 

He blinked, focussing on his surroundings a bit. Ino was bent over him, sweat on her brow as she worked diligently to heal him. Two pairs of feet stood a little away from him facing him. Naruto let his eyes wander up and saw that they were Sasuke and Shikamaru. Sasuke looked worried but composed, but he didn't let his eyes wander away from Naruto, not until he was sure Naruto would be alright. Shikamaru was also worried, just less focussed on Naruto. He also kept an eye on Ino for overexhaustion and from time to time his eyes moved past Naruto to look at something not too far away. 

A scream through gritted teeth drew his attention to Naruto's other side. Sakura lay in the grass a few meters away and she was still writhing and shaking. A thick layer if sweat covered her and she didn't get a moment's rest from the nightmares. Naruto rolled to his side to face her better. "Shit." He cursed when he truly realised what he had done and moved towards her.

"Naruto, don't move!" Ino grabbed his shoulder to keep him still, but it didn't stop him. He rolled further to be on his hands and knees and pulled himself towards Sakura. He needed to undo his Jutsu. They hadn't been able to or didn't know how, so only he could do it. She would die if he left it going in the best case. Forever stuck in fear and pain in the worst. Naruto hoped he'd be on time to prevent any permanent damage. 

Sasuke grabbed his shoulder firmlu, keeping him in place. "Naruto, you're ripping open your wounds. Let Ino finish at least." Naruto shook his head. "That's my fault." He whispered, his eyes focussed on Sakura. "I need to fix it." Sasuke relaxed the grip on Naruto's shoulder and sighed. 

"Stay, lie back down." Sasuke said with a gentle tone, pressing Naruto back so he would lie down. Naruto didn't have the strength to argue, so he complied and laid down on his side, keeping his eyes on Sakura. Sasuke walked over to her, picked her up and brought her closer to Naruto. 

Naruto touched Sakura's neck, sending his volatile chakra surging through her body. For a second, all her muscles tensed and when Naruto pulled back his hand, she went limp in unconsciousness. Shortly after that, Naruto didn't stop himself from slipping into unconsiousness as well.


	25. Bliss

Waking up was absolute bliss. No pain, a soft pillow, well rested, warm and dark. Naruto took a deep breath, taking in the scent of his surroundings since he didn't feel quite ready to open his eyes and find out where he was. The smell of moss and the woods was mixed strongly with another familiar scent that made him smile. He always loved that scent. It calmed him somehow, but also thrilled him a little. Add to that the feeling of a soft breeze, the warm sun on his back, a hand slowly moving through his hair and the soft rise and fall of the stomach he faced while lying on his side, and he was in heaven.

Naruto took another deep breath, pulling his limbs in as if to capture or intensify the comfort he was in. "Finally awake, are you?" Sasuke asked gently, a little mock in his voice. Reluctantly, Naruto opened his eyes and glanced up Sasuke. 

"No." Naruto answered, closing his eyes again. Sasuke softly pulled at his hair to get Naruto took open his eyes again.

"Sorry, you kind of need to wake up now." Sasuke ran his fingers through Naruto's hair again. He had never expected the blond hair to be this soft and since no one was around and Naruto had been asleep, he couldn't resist running his hand through the soft locks while he sat reading a certain book and waiting for Naruto to wake up. The grunt that left Naruto at his words made him chuckle. The reluctance to wake up was endearing and quite frankly, if it was up to Sasuke, Naruto could have stayed laying on his lap for the rest of the day. Too bad they needed to leave soon. Not to mention deal with Sakura.

Naruto shot up when Sasuke laughed, glaring at Sasuke. "Don't laugh at me! Waking up is hard..." He pouted, which just got another chuckle from Sasuke. He loved seeing Naruto's blue eye shine like that. Sasuke associated it with Naruto being happy.

Now that he was sitting, Naruto looked around. He didn't see anyone around and didn't recognise the little clearing they were in. But Sasuke was there, so he wasn't worried. "Where are the others?" He asked.

"They're close by." Sasuke said a little aloof with a small smile. Naruto noticed Sasuke wasn't looking away from him. Naruto didn't either, meeting Sasuke's eyes head on.

"Shouldn't we stay close together?" Naruto asked. It didn't seem likely Shikamaru would let the group separate like this. Naruto saw a sharp edge appear in Sasuke's eyes, clearly angry about something. Naruto cocked his head, wondering if he said something wrong.

"I didn't want you to wake up near Sakura." He said in a steely voice, glaring in a direction somewhere up ahead of him. Naruto guessed the others would be somewhere that way.

"Sakura..?" Naruto mumbled to himself. "That's right. I still need to apologise to her."

Sasuke's attention snapped back to Naruto. The anger hadn't lessened. "What? Why would you need to apologise to her?" He snapped. He wasn't angry with Naruto, but he didn't understand why Naruto still wanted to apologise to Sakura. "Don't you remember what she just did to you?" Naruto looked down and patted his chest. The stab wounds were gone. There probably wasn't even going to be a scar left. His clothes were ruined, though, which was a shame since Sasuke had only just bought them for him.

"She stabbed me. That's alright, though, I hurt her first. Like you said, I took something important from her, her mother. So, I need to apologise." He smiled at the end. 

That didn't sit well with Sasuke, who struggled not to yell in his frustration. "She tried to fucking kill you, Naruto! Do you know what that means? You could have died!" Sasuke placed his hand in Naruto's shoulder to emphasize his words. He was staring Naruto down with urgency. Did Naruto not understand what happened and what could have happened, would have happened if they hadn't found him when they did?

Naruto stared back at him for a second before smiling again, breaking Sasuke's anger with ease. "Just because she did something wrong, doesn't mean that what I did wrong is suddenly not wrong anymore." He said followed by a second of silence, his smile dropping as he looked down. "Do you think they'll lock me up again? I don't want to be locked up anymore." He was genuinely worried about this. He didn't like the uncertainty of it all. He just really wanted a home to call his own, where he knew he could always go back to.

"Why would they lock you up again?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura said that because I attacked her, she could have me locked away again." Naruto wrapped his arms around his legs, leaning his head on them.

"Did you?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded. "Were you the first to attack?" 

Naruto shook his head. "No, but I was the first to land a hit and I did the Genjutsu, so I think she might be right..." He furrowed his brow and started picking at grass strands nearby.

"Shikamaru is talking to Sakura about what happened. He'll listen to you too. Just be honost and it'll be alright." Sasuke moved his hand from Naruto's shoulder to his neck. He didn't like Naruto was upset over the stupid pink-haired girl. The damage she's done during this trip just seemed to keep getting worse. "For what it's worth, I don't believe you were the instigator and I think that she got what she asked for, so there shouldn't be a punishment for you. But you really need to think about how you're going to tell your side, because it will be her word against yours and I don't have to tell you that that gives her an advantage. You need to get the message across that you were acting in self-defence." Sasuke moved his hand a little further up so he was practically cupping Naruto's cheek. The blond seemed to melt into the touch as he listened carefully to Sasuke's words. "Shikamaru knows you. Don't worry." Naruto nodded. "Good." Sasuke let his hand fall, hopeful he got through to Naruto. 

"Naruto, I need you to know... I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I let Sakura get to me and I shouldn't have. Not before asking others, but when she said that you were manipulating me and it couldn't be real, I..." Naruto interrupted him with a kiss. Not a small peck like before, but he lingered, settling his hand in Sasuke's neck. Naruto had to face upwards a little as he leaned in, with him being shorter than Sasuke and all. 

Sasuke felt a little panicked when Naruto didn't end the kiss immediately, nerves swirling in his gut. He had seen Naruto move in as he spoke, but expected a short kiss like before. Wide eyed, he tried to pull back a bit, but Naruto's grip was firm on his neck and he kept their lips connected.

Sasuke didn't know how to react, but when Naruto scooched a little closer and moved his lips lightly against Sasuke's, Sasuke relaxed and closed his eyes, letting the feeling wash over him. The soft feeling of Naruto's lips on his felt amazing. He never thought he'd feel this delighted, just because of skin contact.

When Naruto's tongue slid out and ran across his bottom lip, he gasped. He hadn't even thought about that, let alone think it was okay to do that, but Naruto did and Sasuke loved the feeling even more than just the soft lips dancing over his own. For a second Naruto broke the kiss. "Sweet." Naruto said and placed his lips right back against Sasuke's. In the second Sasuke had just enough time to take a breath before the kiss continued.

Naruto persisted with soft licks at Sasuke's bottom lip, but Sasuke almost didn't dare to return the gesture. He did want to try to be a little more participating, so he slightly moved his lips in the same way Naruto did. The soft moan it enticed from Naruto made Sasuke feel a little more bold and he continued to mimic Naruto's movements. The rhythm they settled on only made it more amazing and evoked a light sense of trance in Sasuke, letting him forget the nerves and his slight panic and get swept away by the feeling. Before he realised what he was doing, he parted his lips and met Naruto's tongue with his own. Naruto whimpered at that, which was the cutest sound Sasuke had ever heard, and Naruto scooched closed again, leaning into Sasuke more heavily. Sasuke wrapped an arm around Naruto to pull him even closed and to keep Naruto steady.

Sasuke let out a moan. This was amazing, perfect, sweet and all he wanted right now. He had never felt this way before and it felt so amazingly right. If this would never stop it would be too soon. 

Sasuke dared let his hand wander down Naruto's back, trying to find the parting in his clothing. He wanted more skin contact, craved it. He wanted to feel the warm, soft skin running underneath his fingers, the hard muscles flexing underneath the smooth surface with every twitch and move, feel Naruto's breath as his chest rose and fell in the heated pattern that he, Sasuke, had made him settle into. He needed to feel more connected physically, like he had a hunger for it that had gone unsatisfied for years. And he needed to feel thrill and pleasure running through Naruto, to make Naruto feel good and special and loved, which would be Sasuke's thrill and pleasure in return. Even if he had no idea how to do all that and it seemed impossible, he needed to try and he would try his hardest. And he knew that with Naruto he could try and discover how to do just that.

He needed all that and more, right now, but he didn't get any of it. Instead, a voice shattered their blissful moment and took away any chance of further happenings. "When you two are done..." Shikamaru said a little loudly, standing way closer than he should have been without either of them noticing. The kiss broke when Shikamaru's voice startled them and with that the moment ended. Naruto let his head rest against Sasuke's chest breathing hard and Sasuke wrapped his arms around him more tightly and protective. He, too, was breathing hard and he felt his raised heart beat in his neck. The most deadly glare he had ever produced was cutting into Shikamaru right now, but it was met head-on with an obnoxious smirk. "We're leaving soon and I need to talk to Naruto before we do." Shikamaru added, and then walked back towards the camp, giving them back their privacy, but not the moment. 

Sasuke stared daggers after him. It had been such an intense moment and all of that was gone now. Slowly realisation sank in on what had just happened and a red blush crawled onto his face. Naruto seemed to come back to himself slowly as well, his hard breathing interrupted by small bursts of laughter as the adrenaline slowly left him. He sounded so happy and content as he lay against Sasuke's chest that Sasuke couldn't really wish for more. Sasuke smiled down at Naruto. Pretty much all his doubt was swept away by the kiss. 

With another deep breath in and a forced breath out, Naruto pushed himself off Sasuke and looked up at him. "So, did any of that feel un-real?" He asked. He had that smile again. That smile that he only seemed to give to Sasuke. That smile that made Sasuke feel like he was special to Naruto and Sasuke loved it. He could look at that smile forever.

"Yeah..." Sasuke answered, smirking a little. He knew what Naruto meant, but 'unreal' was a very good way to describe their kiss.

Naruto nodded, and then shook his head. "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that one." Naruto said, letting his head hang with a chuckle, glancing back at Sasuke through his lashes. "I meant, did any of that feel in any way fake?" He asked. 

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto again. "No, it was all very real." He was quite for a second. "I loved it." He admitted. Naruto smiled up at him again, completely happy it seemed. 

"Sasuke, I don't lie. I have never lied and I never will. And I might mess with people's heads a lot, but it would never be about something as serious as creating fake feelings. I don't need to involve manipulating feelings to get what I want. I'd never do that to someone. Least of all you. I never needed to, even if I had wanted to. Even in school you had feelings for me, but I don't think you ever even realised that." Naruto said seriously. Sasuke thought about it and he had to admit, thinking back on it he did remember the feeling of wanting to be close to Naruto during school. That took Sakura's 'spell by kiss' theory right out the door. Despite already knowing Sakura had been wrong, it still felt reassuring to Sasuke knowing his feelings ran deeper and went back further than he had originally thought, meaning it wasn't just a sudden infatuation and craving, but something more long-lasting and sustained. He nodded and smiled at Naruto and he was happy to see the serious look on Naruto get replaced by that smile again.

Sasuke leaned forwards and gave Naruto a quick kiss on the lips before standing up. He held out his hand to Naruto. "Come on. Something tells me the others might be waiting for our return." Naruto grabbed his hand and let himself get helped to his feet. "Yeah, and that probably has nothing to do with Shikamaru just telling us they were." Naruto answered sarcastically. 

"Nope, now, come on." Sasuke took a few steps, then stopped and turned around to face Naruto again. He wanted to say something, but didn't really know how to. "Are you alright? No pain or wounds anymore?" He asked instead. It wasn't quite the right time to say what he really wanted to say right now, because he wasn't totally sure yet himself and it wasn't something he could take back once he said it. He did have a feeling it wouldn't take him much longer before saying it, though.

"Yeah, I'm all good, ready to get back into action again!" Naruto yelled, shifting his weight from one hip to the other a couple of times. 

"Good." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and guides him back to the camp. Even after entering the camp, Sasuke didn't let go of his hand and Naruto wasn't going to complain about it.


	26. Hapiness

Naruto might not complain about Sasuke holding his hand, but that didn't stop someone else from voicing her concerns. The blissful bubble was crudely punctured by a shrill voice sounding her disgust, but she was soon silenced by Ino, who covered her mouth, hushed her and continued to glare at her until she settled down somewhat. In all honesty, Naruto pitied her. He really did destroy her life, along with her sanity, it seemed. Which got him thinking, that's something they have in common. Maybe he could use that. But he did need to make sure not to make any of it any worse. His eye gleamed red as he watched her, concocting ideas to at least make peace with the pink haired girl. When she caught his stare, she glared at him again, but he didn't respond in any way to it, just kept watching her, thinking of how to go about it. 

Sasuke tugged at his hand, drawing his attention away from Sakura and back to him. "Stop staring. That's not helping." Naruto blinked, not having realised just how long he'd been looking at her. Shikamaru had walked up to them and was now standing next to them, along with Choji. Choji was more focussed on keeping an eye on Sakura per Shikamaru's request. He was to be peacekeeper in their group until they got home, with Ino in the role of direct guard to Sakura, and Sasuke to Naruto. Hopefully it was going to be enough to prevent another clash during this mission. Shikamaru sighed. That this was going to be the first and final mission Naruto and Sakura had together was almost a given at this point, but that didn't make the situation any less troublesome at the moment. 

Shikamaru let Naruto tell his story. He patiently gave Naruto the time to recount it all. As Naruto worked through his emotions that went with the happenings, his eyes kept shifting from blue to red, making the story incoherent, as though a writer switched point of view every few sentences, but with some guidance from Shikamaru and Sasuke, they got a good idea of the situation. Miraculously, it matched Sakura's story for the most part as well. The only part that clearly deviated was that Sakura had made it sound like Naruto had attacked her first, while Naruto's story started with Sakura standing over him and screaming her head off and lashing out at him first. Either way, even in Sakura's account it sounded like Naruto was not the aggressor. 

Shikamaru sighed. This was going to be one big troublesome report to make to the Hokage, not to mention the road back to Konoha was going to be troublesome as well. All of them were going to be on constant alert, even if on the surface they weren't going to show that they were. 

Shikamaru rubbed his head and let out an aggravated growl, almost feeling a headache coming. "Argh... this is definitely going to have consequences and it's going to be troublesome..." He mumbled and then sighed again. "Okay, well, camp's been packed up. We might as well get a move on and see if we can make it back within two days." 

Sasuke lingered close to Naruto during the entire trip, intent to stay in between him and Sakura, but for the duration of the trip it turned out to be unnecessary. Sakura had taken to completely ignoring Naruto to the point it almost seemed she truly didn't see him. Sasuke noticed this and wished for the love of Kami Sakura had listened to him sooner on the point of ignoring Naruto. A lot of grief would have been spared. A new development was the glare she gave Sasuke from time to time. Not that he was mightily impressed by it or anything, but it felt like her disdain for Naruto was leaking towards anyone on friendly terms with Naruto. Shikamaru sighed again. He couldn't wait for this troublesome mission to be over and go cloud watching with Choji somewhere. Just laid back and relaxed as time dragged by, away from anything troublesome. 

Their return was less than grand. Even at the gate the guards picked up on the deadend mood of the group, letting them pass without making any bigger a deal then necessary about it. The grim atmosphere of the group was still very much present when they entered the Hokage's office, leaking over to the Hokage as well. Sarutobi and Kakashi shared a look when the seriousness of the group bled into the small room. Sarutobi sat back, prepared to listen to the account. None of them seemed to be injured, nor were any of the party missing. He half expected Shikamaru to report a failed mission, seeing no other obvious reason for the grim mood, but that was not the story that was laid before them. As Shikamaru and Sasuke recounted their parts of the mission followed to completions, Shikamaru told them how they found Sakura unconscious and in some sort of pain afterwards. Sasuke then proceeded to tell about how they found Naruto clinging to a tree for dear life while bleeding out. The room seemed to get darker and colder at every word as both Hokage also grimmed in mood. Both Hokage had a sullen expression on their face.

Shikamaru proceeded to report Sakura's account and than Naruto's account of the part that only they knew about, noting the differences in their stories and when he finished the room was left in an eerie silence. 

"That's quite something... This is very serious." Kakashi was the first to break the silence. "Naruto..." Naruto looked up at Kakashi, looking a little worried. Was he going to get punished or were they going to blame him for what happened? Despite the reassurance from Shikamaru and Sasuke, in the end it would be up to Sarutobi and Kakashi to determine the course of his life once again. "Are you alright?" Kakashi asked, his voice laced with genuine care and interest. Naruto perked up at that, smiling a little. Maybe he wouldn't be judged to harshly after all. 

"I'm fine. Ino healed me. She's really good, not even a scar left. It's a shame about the clothing, though. I really liked them." He said, looking down and pulling at the tattered part of his shirt. Despite washing them in a stream as best he could, you could still make out the outline of the blood stains a little. It still didn't sit well with him that Sasuke had spent money on him and he ruined it within a few days. Not to mention, he usually earned gifts like clothing in the department by helping out on occasion, but he had just asked Sasuke without really giving anything in return yet, so he felt a little conscious that he still needed to pay Sasuke back.

"Good, and Sakura?" Kakashi continued. She looked up, a little wide eyed and bordering on a panic of some sort, and shook her head before looking down again. She was not alright, far from it. And still she was in the same room as him. She hated it. She couldn't handle it, the way everyone seemed to be so easily swayed by Naruto and now they were looking at her like she was to blame for anything that had happened during the mission? It was unfair and she didn't know how to handle any of this. Ino stepped up next to her and rubbed her back trying to comfort her. She was still like a sister to Ino in the end and Ino felt like she needed to show at least some support for Sakura. When it remained silent, it became clear Sakura wasn't going to say anything, so Kakashi hummed as he studied her reaction. 

He looked at Sarutobi. "What are we going to do with this?" Kakashi asked. He was at a bit lost. In his relatively short cariere as Hokage he had yet to experience an internal case like this. This could escalate to insubordination in the best case, and to attempted murder in the worst. Either way, it couldn't go unpunished and action needed to be taken. 

Sarutobi hadn't taken his eyes of Sakura yet. There wasn't so much anger in them as there was contemplation. It took more than a few moments before he spoke up. He took a deep inhale like he had forgotten to breath for a while. "We will talk to them both, in separate meetings, joined by Yamanaka-san. We'll also talk to the rest of the team." He said, focussed on Kakashi, and then looked back at the team. "Get your payments for the mission at the desk and go home. Sakura, you are forbidden from leaving your house after you get back. Ino, you make sure she goes home straight away. There will be an ANBU watching you. And Naruto, I'm afraid the same will go for you. It could take a couple of days and until everything is sorted out, you are both under house arrest." Sarutobi took a deep breath and shifted his focus to Naruto. "I'm sorry, but until this is properly sorted out, this is the very least we need to do." Naruto was glad Sarutobi looked at him as he said the last part. It gave him some hope that Sasuke and Shikamaru were right and that it all would be alright. "Until I call you again, you are all dismissed."

After collecting their pay, the group broke apart, Sakura and Ino left together, Shikamaru and Choji walked for a while with Naruto and Sasuke until their paths split up. "Naruto, don't worry." Shikamaru said. "With our statements and yours, they don't have a case against you. Just honour the house arrest, okay?" Naruto nodded and Shikamaru and Choji left after that. 

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto said. The money he just got was in his hand and he was looking at it. It wasn't a great amount of money and it barely covered the price of the clothing Sasuke had bought Naruto, but it was all he had and he felt like he needed to give something to Sasuke, so this was a good start. He looked at the money in his hand before holding it out to Sasuke. "Here." He said. 

"What? Why?" Sasuke asked. 

"Well, because you bought me clothing and I'm staying in your house, eating your food and stuff, so..." Naruto said, looking away from Sasuke a bit, almost shy.

Sasuke looked at Naruto for a while. He loved the happy glow in Naruto's blue eye. It meant Naruto was happy, which Sasuke loved, but it also meant that Naruto was a little easier to handle then when the red eye was gleaming. He couldn't help but appreciate that Naruto acknowledged what he had done for him. It was gentle and kind and Sasuke really like that. At the same time, the brash and impulsive side Naruto showed which Sasuke associated with his red eye, Sasuke also liked that. It gave a depth to Naruto that made everything a lot more interesting. Sasuke nodded. "Alright, thank you." He said as he took the money and gave Naruto a small smile. "Well, I guess I'll have to keep taking care of you, then. How about we drop by a clothing shop yo replace your ruined clothing before we go home?" He asked, holding his hand out to Naruto. Naruto froze at that, looking at Sasuke with big eyes. "What? Sasuke asked, unsure why Naruto was suddenly frozen in place.

"Home?" Naruto asked with a small voice.

"Yes, home." 

"As in, my home, too?" Naruto asked, swallowing hard and attempting to blink some tears away. It wasn't helping.

Sasuke turned back to fully face Naruto again. "Yes, your home, too." He said smirking, watching Naruto's face break into a grin and grab Sasuke's hand.

"Really? Are you serious?" Naruto asked again. Sasuke pulled him a little closer. 

"Yes, dobe, I am serious." He said in a certain voice, looking Naruto dead in the eyes. "Come on, let's go home." 


	27. Happenings

Naruto pushed past Sasuke as soon as Sasuke unlocked the door. He stood grinning in the hall for a second, looking around before yelling 'Tadaima!', kicking his shoes off and running into the house, bolting from room to room like it was the first time he was there and was exploring everything to make it his own. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and smiled a little. He knew Naruto was happy about being able to call this home, but Sasuke hadn't expected Naruto to be this happy and excited about all this. That didn't take away that Sasuke liked seeing Naruto like this. 

Sasuke was holding several bags with more new clothing for Naruto and groceries for the next few days they picked up alone the way as well. Naruto had smoothly tricked him into carrying all of it, handing over one bag at the time each time Naruto wanted to point something out to Sasuke, but Sasuke didn't really mind. At the very least, Naruto was already wearing on set of the clothing they had bought, having discarded the tattered mission clothing in the shop, much to the shop keepers chagrin. It was better than having Naruto walk around in ruined clothing, so Sasuke shamelessly told the shop owner to deal with it. 

He picked up Naruto's shoes and placed them neatly to the side, adding his own next to them. He'd have to tell Naruto to be more neat around the house, but for now he would let Naruto be cheerful. He took the bags to the kitchen, placed the bags with clothing on the table and started sorting the bags of groceries away. 

It didn't take long before Naruto ran into the kitchen looking for Sasuke. "Need help?" He asked, a little out of breath and grinning like an idiot. 

"No, it's fine. Just put your new clothing away." Sasuke answered, waving a hand at the table and continuing putting stuff away. He liked knowing where everything was, so he prefered to put everything away himself. Well, maybe he just needed to get used to having someone living with him, but for now he would sort it out himself. 

"Yessir!" Naruto said. With the same energy, Naruto snatched the bags from the table, ran around to table and kissed Sasuke's cheek, and than ran out of the room again to which Sasuke rolled his eyes, a smile on his lips. Happy Naruto was happy, it seemed, and not ashamed to show it. Sasuke couldn't help but admire the endless energy Naruto seemed to have. They were just back from multiple days of travel, a fight, a near-death experience and a shopping trip and still Naruto seemed nowhere near ready to call it a day.

A few moments later a loud yelp followed by a crashing sound and then something shattering startled Sasuke to stop what he was doing. He hurried out of the kitchen and into the hallway Naruto had just disappeared into to check what the hell just happened. 

He found Naruto sitting on the floor, rubbing his head and grumbling under his breath. It was quite a funny picture, but Sasuke kept a straight face, first wanting to be sure Naruto was alright. "Ouchy, ouchy!" Naruto mumbled while he cartoonishly kept rubbing his head, which Sasuke took as a sign that it wasn't really all that bad. He crossed his arms and did his best attempt to sound stern. "Care to tell me what happened?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. The biggest, tear-stricken eyes underneath scrunched eyebrows rose themselves to meet Sasuke's, accompanied by an overly cute pout. Sasuke wanted to just swoop down and cup Naruto's face to wipe his tears away, but he maintained his stern pose, waiting for Naruto to explain.

"Your carpet tripped me..." Naruto answered seriously and sounding heart breakingly sad. Sasuke struggled to keep a straight face, seeing Naruto sitting on the floor and wanted to say something, but his eyes wandered over the floor to the broken vase behind Naruto. He dropped his hands and looked at it with a pained expression, his whole body seemed to deflate and he looked saddened by it. The look got Naruto's full attention and he cocked his head to take in Sasuke's face better, realising he probably did something bad and he already felt a bit guilty. He had seen the vase fall after face planting against the cabinet after tripping, but he hadn't had the reaction to catch it. "Oh, no..." Sasuke muttered, stepping past Naruto and kneeling down to pick up the shards carefully. "That was my mother's favorite..."

A pang of guilt shot through Naruto. Mothers were important, Sasuke had told him so, and now he had broken something very precious to Sasuke's mother, and that meant he had broken something very precious to Sasuke. "I'm sorry, Sasuke..." Naruto said, watching Sasuke carefully pick up the pieces. Naruto turned onto his hands and knees and crawled the small distance to Sasuke, placing his hand on Sasuke's leg. "I really am." He added searching for eye contact. "Let me do that." He said and he leaned in to pick up pieces too. 

Sasuke sighed and looked back at Naruto. Naruto was looking so guilty it was really hard for Sasuke to be angry with him. That didn't stop him from being very miffed by the blond right now. Still, Naruto showed he was sorry and Sasuke didn't want to tell Naruto to just leave, so instead he would let Naruto help."Just hold up your hand." He sighed, and when Naruto did he tipped the content of his hand into Naruto's. "Be careful not to get cut." He warned and went back to pick up more pieces.

Naruto sat patiently next to Sasuke while Sasuke carefully piled the pieces into his hand. It had been a somewhat big vase, so he needed both his hands now to hold the pieces. Most of it was picked up, leaving the smaller particles they'd need a broom for to clean up. Sasuke reached for a piece underneath the cabinet the vase had stood upon, but quickly retracted his hand with a curse. His finger now had a deep cut and blood was dripping out quite fast. "Damnit." He muttered. He had even warned Naruto, and now he was stupid enough to get himself cut.

Naruto froze at the sight of the pearls of blood forming and running down. Sasuke's pale skin was a stark contrast to the viscous red liquid that slowly made its way down Sasuke's finger and he was completely fixated on it. There was something so beautiful about it and he wanted it. Before Sasuke could do anything, Naruto dropped the shards and grabbed Sasuke's hand, pulling Sasuke's hand towards him and making Sasuke turn around to face him. 

Naruto's red eye was burning fiercy, enough to make Sasuke feel slightly unsettled. Naruto's grip on his wrist was strong enough to hurt him slightly and he moved his wrist to try and free his hand. "Naruto, let go." He said sternly, but Naruto ignored his words and his struggles completely. Sasuke tried again to break free, but the grip was like iron and Sasuke realised he had no chance of getting his hand back as long as Naruto didn't want to let go. Naruto had this greedy look in his eyes Sasuke had only seen before during their spar and Sasuke remembered the way Naruto almost went berserk, or at least it had looked like that to Sasuke. It was a lot less intense then it had been during the spar, since Naruto wasn't riled up by combat right now, but Sasuke recognised the look all the same.

Naruto pulled Sasuke's hand closer and started licking the blood away, starting at the lowest point near Sasuke's wrist and working his way up, leaving nothing but clean skin. He loved the sweet taste of Sasuke's blood and he moaned when the taste hit his tongue, the taste being almost intense enough to dull all his other senses. He closed his eyes and moved closer to Sasuke and Sasuke instantly moved back a little. Naruto just kept moving closer and with ease he pushed Sasuke onto his back, barely registering that Sasuke was protesting against it and that Sasuke had grabbed his wrist with his free hand to get Naruto to let go.

Naruto sat down on Sasuke's stomach, straddling him with a leg on either side. He kept licking Sasuke's finger despite Sasuke's continued protests, ending with taking the whole finger into his mouth with another moan and closed eyes. The moment he took the finger into his mouth and moaned, Sasuke suddenly became very still. The hand Sasuke was using to attempt to free himself was pulled back. The sudden stillness brought Naruto back to his senses a little and he looked down at Sasuke. Sasuke blushing like a tomato and hiding his face with his free hand, glancing over his hand and focussed on his finger in Naruto's mouth.

The embarresment on Sasuke's face brought Naruto's attention from the taste of blood completely back to Sasuke. The blush on Sasuke's face was almost reminiscent of blood and he loved the way it looked on Sasuke.

Naruto slowly took Sasuke's finger out of his mouth, licked his lips, swallowed visibly and smirked down on Sasuke. He ever so slightly moved his hips, grinding into Sasuke a little. The red on Sasuke's cheek increased as he averted his eyes under Naruto's unbroken gaze. Naruto sat back a little further, making sure he was sitting mostly on Sasuke's hips while making a few more subtle movements. Sasuke bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes trying not to make any embarrassing sounds, but Naruto's persistence made that, and him, very hard. 

Naruto cocked his head as he watched Sasuke. He liked the way Sasuke reacted and wanted to see more of it. He grabbed Sasuke's other wrist, pulling the hand away from Sasuke's face so Sasuke couldn't hide his expressions, and pinned both Sasuke's hands above his head. Sasuke's eyes snapped open at that and he looked at Naruto, unsure of what to expect and he tried to get his wrists free again. "Naruto, let me go." He said, trying to sound calm and in control, but the way his face burned and his heart was beating in his throat he, as wel as Naruto, knew very well that he wasn't. Instead, his attempt to wiggle free just made the smirk on Naruto wider and Naruto's grip on his wrist a little stronger. The way Naruto overpowered him right now made him nervous and wary. He wasn't sure if he could get Naruto to stop when Sasuke wanted to, but Naruto didn't. At the same time, he was curious to see where this was going to go. 

Naruto leaned in, softly kissing Sasuke's lips, but Sasuke turned his face away so instead Naruto kissed his jawline, making his way to the soft skin of Sasuke's neck. Sasuke tried to turn his face so Naruto couldn't reach while half-heartedly muttering for Naruto to stop, but that just earned him a growl from the blond pinning him down. Naruto pulled Sasuke's hands a little closer so they were directly above his head and pinned both Sasuke's wrists with one hand. Even like that Sasuke felt like he had no chance on freeing his hands, but he still struggled against the hold.

Naruto let his now free hand hand softly caress over Sasuke's face, staring at him intently. "So pretty..." He whispered. "Don't move now." He held Sasuke's face to the side with one finger as he once again swooped down to kiss and lick at the soft and sensitive skin in the nape of Sasuke's neck. Sasuke still struggled a little, but at the same time he was slowly caving in to the sensation Naruto was pushing onto him, struggling a little less with each passing second.

Naruto broke away from Sasuke's neck and instead kissed him on the mouth again. With soft movements, he coached Sasuke into responding to him, slowly working their way to a full on deep kiss. Sasuke finally cracked and moaned into the kiss, relaxing his body. Naruto was in control, and even if Sasuke didn't think he liked it at first, he felt like it was fine now. It was exciting in some way, to surrender and be controlled a little. It stopped him from having to think about what he was doing and he could just go with it. He only had to follow the soft nudges and and light pressures Naruto gave him and Naruto did the rest. It was a lot different than the kiss during the mission, in which Naruto had seemed to want Sasuke to take control and he had done so for as far as he was capable off, but the lack of experience kind of stood in the way of that. Sasuke loved that Naruto had wanted him to take control then, yet now Naruto had no problem taking full control and Sasuke was just loving this all the same. Maybe it didn't really matter to him who was in control, as long as it was with Naruto. Right now, with Naruto leaning over him and guiding him, he was loving being loved. 

Naruto felt the change in Sasuke as Sasuke relaxed and let go of his hands. He smirked into the kiss at his little victory, kissing Sasuke a little more fiercely and a little more daring. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto neck, pulling him a little closer and kissing back with the same passion as Naruto was putting into it.

Naruto intertwined his fingers into Sasuke's hair, pinning Sasuke down a little as he let his other hand wander over Sasuke's chest, feeling the muscles underneath the cloth. Breaking the kiss, Naruto gave them both a few seconds to catch their breaths, before he nuzzled Sasuke's neck, taking in his scent with deep steady breaths that tickled Sasuke's skin with every exhale. Sasuke just held onto him, trying to keep his neck craned so Naruto had easy excess, which was difficult, because he was ticklish. Not that Naruto's firm grip in his hair left him much choice, but that was besides the point. 

Naruto sat up, looking down at the mess he made of Sasuke. Sasuke was breathing hard, much like himself, but Sasuke had clear kiss marks decorating his jawline and neck, his hair was disshevelen and his clothing ascew, he was still blushing and his eyes were a bit glazed over. As Naruto sat up, Sasuke had dropped his hands so he was holding Naruto's hips, which Naruto teasingly wiggled a bit under the excuse of finding a better way to sit. It made Sasuke's blush bloom brighter again and Naruto could feel why. He smirked down on Sasuke, loving the embarrasment on Sasuke's face. When Naruto let his hands slide down Sasuke's chest with the intention of finding more skin contact, Sasuke's expression changed from embarresment to a little reluctant. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hands and stopped him. "Naruto, I..." He said. He was happy Naruto didn't just go through with it. Instead, he stopped his movements as soon as he saw Sasuke's expression and let Sasuke stop him. 

"No further?" Naruto asked, smiling slightly at Sasuke. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just..." It hadn't even been a week since he had admitted to himself that he liked Naruto in this way and any more then kissing, and maybe feeling each other up, just wasn't on the table yet right now. 

"Are you sure you don't need help with this?" Naruto asked, wiggling his hips again and making the blush on Sasuke's face burn up once more. Naruto smirked, his red eye still fierce, but Sasuke still shook his head 'No'. Naruto shrugged. "Okay." He said happily and instead leaned down again to hug and snuggle against Sasuke. Sasuke barely caught a glimpse of Naruto's eyes, switching from red to blue the instant Naruto accepted Sasuke's decision. Sasuke hugged him back and for a while they just stayed like that, enjoying each other's body heat and company. 


	28. A Different Side

He lay awake. Something felt wrong that prevented him from sleeping. There was an unrest within him and it roused him from a long slumber. Maybe he was a bit jealous the others all had a chance to play, but he didn't. Ofcourse his instincts would kick in at night, being nocturnal. 

He hadn't been unaware of everything that had happened, it was just that he never took an active role in it all, because he was inherently lazy. Yet now he was awake. His current mate, Sasuke was sleeping next to him and he was trying to not be restless and wake up Sasuke. He was staring at the ceiling and just couldn't find sleep. 

He sighed. Nights were so long when you couldn't sleep. He didn't want to remain inactive when he felt this much energy brimming inside him. If Sasuke had been awake, he would have gladly burned away the energy with his mate, but Sasuke seemed so peaceful sleeping he didn't want to disturb him.

Sitting up, he waited for a second to see if his movement disturbed Sasuke, but Sasuke didn't move. He got up and left the room to go to the back yard. He sat on the deck, watching out over the garden and leaned against a post. It was nice outside, the moon was bright and the sky cloudless. The stars were shining, strewn across the sky in full glory. For a moment he longed to go to the Hokage monument and just sit there for a while, but he was on house arrest, so he stayed where he was. 

After a while he got up and walked into the garden. In boredom, he might as well tend to it. It was still decent from when they worked on it before, but work was never done in a garden. Even the short while of their mission was enough to sprout new weeds, gather new fallen leafs and even some dead plants. It wasn't like the dark prevented him from seeing it. The moon and stars were quite enough to see everything. In fact, sometimes he found it easier to work under the light of the moon as sunlight was regularly bright enough to still hurt his eyes a bit.

It passed the time. It wasn't until the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon that he noticed he'd worked the night away. And that he might have wandered over to the part of the garden that they hadn't worked on at all yet.

He sat down and looked at his hands. They were muddy and stained. They had scratches on them and even some blood from deeper scratches he had failed to notice as he worked. It was weird seeing these hands. They looked wrong, nothing like his real hands. Or paws to be more exact. He felt disassociated from this body. It didn't fit him, so he rarely took control, but the gardening had brought a peace of mind that allowed him to accept it for a while. 

He couldn't wait to slumber again. Remain silent in the background but still present, like he had been for so long, sealed away. He yawned. Of boredom more then tiredness.

But something still felt off. He was being watched. At first he thought it was the ANBU the Hokage sent after him, but the ANBU wasn't alerted to him right now. Probably because the ANBU didn't expect him to be up in the middle of this night. There was something else. Or rather, someone else, that was trying to prevent leaking their presence to him. For a moment he wondered if the second presence was what drew him from his otherwise peaceful slumber, but that wasn't it. The presence was a more recent addition to his day. He looked around, his red eyes taking in the surroundings with new diligence. Ah, there it was, hiding in plain sight. It must think it was hiding properly. His eyes settled on it fiercely.

He slowly stood up, stretching the muscles that felt so unfamiliar yet responded to him like his own body would have. He fixated his gaze upon his point of interest and the subject of his attention squirmed uncomfortably. With certain steps he strode over to the small quivering creature. "Hello there, little bunny." The fox said, grinning down at his new prey. "Were you being curious? That's a dangerous trade to have as a bunny, you know." He said, cocking his head and grinning, exposing his slightly elongated canines as he stared at the bunny with gleaming red eyes. The bunny backed up, nervously smiling up at him and muttering something. 

"What's that, bunny? You really need to learn how to speak up. You wouldn't want your last words to go unheard, now would you?" He leaned in closed as if to listen better, but then grabbed at the bunny with his clawed and dirtied hand. He missed his swipe as the bunny hopped away quickly. Well, that just wouldn't do. He'd need to give chase. How long had it been since he had hunted for real? Too long. Yes... way too long. His grin widened as he watched the bunny scurry away. It was speedy, he'd give the bunny that, but that just made it more interesting. 

He gave chase, jumping in front of the bunny so it needed to scramble and turn direction, swiping at its legs so it'd loose balance, nicking the skin to hear it yelp in pain, but never enough to make it slow in its attempts to get away. Not that he would let it get away, no, he just wanted it to think it might be able to. It amused him to see it run and cower in fear. This was the kind of power he loved to have, the power that should have always been his, and everything in the world was supposed to be mere bunnies to him. Except his mate. His mate was the only one to stand on equal footing as him. But he got cruelly locked away, almost long enough to forget the thrill of the hunt. So now he took his time and toyed with his prey.

But he had toyed enough. His prey was getting tired and that took the fun out of it a little. The real pleasure of the hunt didn't come from the chase; it came from the kill. To see the life seeping out of the small, vulnerable body as it bled out, to see the shine leave the eyes as it gave out and left its body to feed his own. That moment was the sacrifice he longed to take.

He launched, landing on the bunny and locking it in place so it could no longer run away from him. He leaned on the bunny with a hand on its shoulder and and on on its head. He pressed down a little harshly, watching the bunny squirm and yelp softly. The bunny's body grew completely still save for the quick breathing and eyes desperately searching for a means to get away. He moved back a bit, preparing to press down hard and pound on the fragile neck to make it snap. He didn't have the mouth to tear at its throat, so a bloodless kill was all he could manage.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" His mate called out, sounding upset. He looked between Sasuke and the little bunny a couple of times, a little lost his mate didn't understand he was hunting and confused over the name he was called. It took a few seconds to remember that they had kept Naruto as their name, despite it not fitting him anymore but because of a lack of a better option, they had stuck with Naruto. 

"Mate. I was hunting." He said and Sasuke gave him a look that indicated his confusion. Why would Sasuke be confused? He cocked his head at Sasuke, waiting on what Sasuke would do. 

Sasuke walked up the them and looked him straight in the eyes. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at seeing both eyes red, before settling back down. "Let him go, would you? You're hurting him." Sasuke said, looking down on the pathetic creature still fearing for his life underneath him. 

"Why? Don't you want to eat bunny?" He asked, following Sasuke's gaze to greedily stare at the bunny as well. A renewed fear bloomed on the bunny's face at what he said and it began to squirm once again. That just made him brace his claws into the skin of the bunny in an attempt to keep it from escaping. 

"That's not a bunny, Naruto, now please let him go before he really gets hurt." Sasuke said. "For me?" Sasuke added when he didn't get a response. 

He huffed, pressed down on the bunny one last time and then sat back. The bunny scrambled to stand up and it hid behind his mate, clinging to Sasuke's shirt and looking back at the fox with big, scared eyes. He still looked nervous, but was quite brave for a bunny, deviantly staring back at him.

"I still don't like that name." He stated, attempting to swirl his tails only to realise he didn't have any tails on this body. He grumbled at that. "But since another name is still not chosen, I guess there still is no alternative." He sighed. He definitely needed to make this matter more pressing, even if he was the only one, it seemed, to be bothered by the blatent misnaming of himself. 

He looked at Sasuke again, and the boy behind him. And yes, he did recognise the bunny was in fact a boy of around twelve or so, so he was grateful his mate had stopped him from killing it. Him. Whatever. What he also noticed was the natural grace of his mate while shielding the child, the way Sasuke had placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and unconsciously shifted to shield the boy from harm.

"You don't look so bad there, mate, with a child clinging to your frock." He purred as Sasuke, locking eyes with him and standing up. "We would do well to merit our own soon." His words elicited a blush on Sasuke with the insinuation and he smirked. He cupped Sasuke's cheek and kissed him. He chose his mate well. It really was a shame neither of them were female for as far as kids went.

Sasuke stepped back, glaring at him. "This is not okay. You can't almost kill a child and then continue like nothing happened!" He chided.

"Well, it was just a human. And a trespassing one at that. If anything, I was defending my territory." He shrugged. 

"Defending territory? Against a 'bunny'?" Sasuke said.

"Ah, well, you know..." He said, realising he wasn't going to talk his was out of this one.

"Why did you do it anyway?" Sasuke slightly glared at him, making him squirm a bit. He had upset his mate. That wasn't something he should do. 

"I haven't moved around freely in years. Decades. I got carried away when I sniffed out prey. You can't blame a fox for wanting to hunt!" He said, a little riled. Sasuke didn't budge, however, and continued to glare him down. "Oh, mate. I'm sorry I've upset you. If you don't want me hunting your humans, then I won't, promise." He said, stepping closer to Sasuke and stroking his cheek. The skin felt so nice and soft underneath his hand. He smiled when he saw Sasuke slightly lean into his palm, knowing it was a little victory for him.

"Don't apologise to me! Apologise to him!" Sasuke said, pointing at the boy who was still clinging to Sasuke's shirt. 

"Fine." He said and crouched down. "Come here, kid." 

The kid looked nervously between Sasuke and him, but didn't move. "Come on, kid, aren't you a little too old to be hiding behind someone?" He tried to taunt the kid into stepping out and to his amusement it worked.

"I'm not hiding! I'm keeping myself safe!" Well, you can't flaw that logic. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on, kid, it's not like I'll bite." 

"Somehow, I don't believe you." The kid answered, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Well, you better, because I don't lie." The kid looked between Sasuke and him again and then dared step closer. As soon as the kid dared let go of Sasuke, he smirked and quickly pulled the kid towards him, pinning him down in a hug. The kid yelped and turned around, but wasn't able to get away. "I'm sorry, pet. I won't try to kill you again." He made sure his voice had a slight growl to it and his smirk widened when he felt the shiver run down the bunny's spine. He couldn't help it, he loved terrifying smaller and weaker creatures.

"F-fine, I accept your apology. Please let me go!" He didn't. Instead, he sat down and dragged the poor boy along with him, who didn't even get a chance to flail around or try to free himself because of the hug.

"I like this one. Can we keep him?" He asked Sasuke. Sasuke didn't know whether to laugh about the whole situation, feel sorry for the kid or if he should be angry for Naruto treating a kid like a lost bunny. And was petting said boy right now. 

The kid settled into his fate quite quickly, though, hanging over his arm anime-crying, but otherwise fine. "I'm sure he already belongs to someone, so no." At that the boy was released and a pout was directed at Sasuke.

"Then we'll need to get one of our own... or we could try and make one of our own." He said, smirking up at Sasuke and winking, but he didn't give Sasuke the time to respond. He looked at the kid, who was standing a few steps away, just outside easy grab-range. "What's your name, anyway, pet?" 

"I'm not a pet! I'm Konohamaru!" The kid said, crossing his arms.

"Konohamaru, hmm. You smell like that old monkey. And like rabbit. Why are you here?" He leaned towards Konohamaru a bit, but the boy stepped away.

"I'm training by spying on an ANBU." Konohamaru said a little cocky. 

"You mean the ANBU that's supposed to be watching me, but completely missed the part where I spent halve the night outside and tried to kill a bunny, the ANBU that's currently still sleeping in that tree over there and still hasn't noticed anything that's going on. That ANBU?" He pointed out. Konohamaru shook his head.

"No, I'm spying on a good ANBU, Uchiha-san!" He said, pointing at Sasuke. Sasuke crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. That kid had some nerve thinking he could just spy on an ANBU.

"Well, I could watch my mate all day as well..." He chuckled. "Ah, but..." He made a quick grab at Konohamaru again, who again wasn't fast enough to avoid him. Hugging the kid close to him, he urgently whispered something into Konohamaru's ear. Konohamaru had struggled at first, but when he heard the whispers, he stilled and smirked. A smirk that was almost reminiscent of Naruto's smirk, Sasuke thought. When Konohamaru looked at Sasuke with that smirk, Sasuke was pretty sure it was the exact same type of smirk Naruto used to carry when he was out to prank people. 

He let go of Konohamaru again. Konohamaru stood up and saluted the blond man who was also smirking. "Okay, boss! Leave it to me!" He chirped and ran off. 

"What did you say to him?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing, realy." He answered shrugging, avoiding the issue. "But maybe the kid is a little more fox than bunny after all. This will be interesting." He stood up. "I'm going to sleep now. My head is killing me." He made his way inside and cuddled into the blankets that smelled of his mate. He was going to slumber again, but maybe he would take control a little more often. Interesting things could happen if he did. It did put a strain on him, though, so maybe not too often. 

Ah, but Sasuke did look really good with a kid next to him. It would be a nice future to think about. With that thought, he was asleep within seconds.


	29. Identity Explained

"You know, you were pretty scary this morning." Sasuke said. Naruto had barely opened his eyes from his morning nap and he sat up groggily. Sasuke was sitting, leaning against the wall of the bedroom. Sasuke was looking straight at him, and found only Naruto's red eye gleaming and he felt relieved for it. Blue-eye Naruto was something Sasuke felt he had the best handle on, but red tended to be more serious and was easier to get a logical answer from. "Ah, yes, well, I can see why you'd think so." Naruto said, sitting up straighter and clutching his head. The feeling of having one of his three extremes out was always so weird afterwards. Almost like his mind had made some kind of attempt to becomes seperate again, but failed miserably. It was straining and impossible, so it left him feeling hungover, for lack of a better description. "That's the part of me closest to Kurama. I, uh... it's been a long time since that part even spoke up. I think the last time was just before the lady got killed." Sasuke was surprised. He'd never heard Naruto talk about his personalities before. Quite frankly, Sasuke never truly realised Naruto consciously knew there were more parts to him. Naruto took a deep breath and looked at Sasuke. "It's weird, you know, being able to switch your state of mind... Not every part is equal, but all of me can be triggered. I don't really know why that part was awake this morning." Naruto looked at his hands. "I was right, though, this body feels weird sometimes." He held up his hand and let himself fall back still looking at his hand. "Argh, now I feel weird all over..." He said, flexing his hand. "So, you know about all your different personalities then?" Sasuke asked. "I don't like calling them 'personalities'. They're not separate. I'm not separate. I am one, but I sometimes feel different and I'm much more conscious about how I am, rather than who I am. Like I am now and, as Morino called it, when I'm 'blue', is easiest. It's like my core, almost seamless. When you asked me to be serious during the mission, the moment after that and this morning, those are harder, more on the edge. Closer to insanity, if I had to explain it. It's dangerous and strenuous to pass those cracks in my mind." He dropped his hand and looked at Sasuke. It was hard to explain, but he hoped Sasuke would at least get the general idea. "Does that make any sense?" Sasuke took a moment to think about what Naruto said. "So, are you like, in control?" He asked. "Yes and no. I am conscious of which part is dominant, and my inactive parts are conscious of everything that's happening. The switch is more often than not unconscious unless I strain myself, depending on the situation." He smirked at Sasuke. "Or at special requests." He said with a wink. "But this morning you didn't seem to care you were about to kill a boy. You were enjoying the terror you put in that boy!" Sasuke said. This was worrying him, because that part of Naruto could cause a lot of problems if it wasn't in line with how Naruto generally acted, which was within the rules and, well, like a human. "I can't say for certain, but I do believe I would have stopped myself. Probably. But you can't blame me for sometimes not understanding your human rules! I am ancient by your standards and rules change a lot as time passes! But I promised I wouldn't hurt your humans, so I won't." Naruto shrugged. "Bunny is fine anyway, so no harm, no foul." Sasuke sighed. He had known this since the first day Naruto set foot in their classroom. The blond was nothing but trouble making itself more complicated. "Why were you awake so early anyway?" "I was awake a lot earlier than you think. Like around midnight or something. It was instinctual for the 'Kurama' part of me to be awake at night. That probably also explains why that part is usually really inactive." He mused. "Well, I can honestly say that that part of me is now also fully on board with the whole 'human rules' thing, but if you ever notice I'm like that know that I still try to " "I still can't say I'm happy with this, but I guess I'll let it go for now..." Sasuke said sounding weary. "How about we go eat some lunch?" Sasuke watched as his mention of food settled into the blond's mind and kind of like he expected, there was a shift from red to blue in the blink of an eye. Naruto jumped up. "Yes!" He almost yelled, fist-pumping. Sasuke hadn't gotten up with him, so he ran the few steps over to Sasuke and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go!" He chirped, pulling Sasuke to his feet. "I feel like I haven't eaten in days!" Sasuke let himself get dragged to his feet and calmly followed the suddenly hyperactive blond that was still trying to get him to hurry up. "Calm down, Dobe, the food isn't going anywhere." He said smiling. Naruto stopped in his step and was silent for a second. "That's true... but I'm still hungry! Come on!" Once in the kitchen, Naruto sat himself neatly at the table. His energy was way too high to remain sitting still, so his was jumping up and down in his seat and shifting left and right. "What are you making?" He asked Sasuke. "Who said that I was going to make something?" Sasuke asked and crossed his arms. "You did! The moment you said my cooking was boring!" Naruto grinned at Sasuke. There was no denying this one and he was looking forward to a home-cooked meal by Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Fine." He turned around and rummaged through the cabinets to gather some ingredients. "Yes!" Naruto's grin didn't falter and he did a little victory dance in his chair. Sasuke went for the obvious tomato salad and a sandwich for lunch. That didn't stop Naruto from pounding on the meal and ask for seconds before Sasuke had even taken a bite. "Make your own." Sasuke told him, but Naruto remained seated and just stared at Sasuke with begging eyes. Puppy dog eyes, or better said, foxy, cheeky eyes accompanied by a cute smile... and gone was Sasuke's resolve. He sighed and pushed his plate towards Naruto. "Fine, have this." He stood up to make more for himself, wondering to himself why it was so easy for Naruto to get away with stuff like this. Again. He sighed. The happy hums and eating sounds from behind him made up for his momentary self-doubt and he realised he just really liked taking care of Naruto. There wasn't much to do around the house after that. With Naruto restricted to house arrest, Sasuke confined himself to the house as well, but Sasuke was easily able to entertain himself with the book he still needed to finish. The same couldn't be said for Naruto. Within an hour after lunch he was laying flat on his back on the rug in front of the couch Sasuke was sitting on. Sasuke had his legs pulled up on the couch and was slowly getting more and more agitated each time Naruto sighed, groaned, kicked his legs or otherwise indicated his boredom. "Saa-suu-keee!" Naruto whined, sitting up and placing his chin on Sasuke's knee. He tapped the back of the book to get Sasuke's attention. Sasuke glared at him, but got a grin in return. "What are you reading?" Naruto asked in an innocent voice. "Do you remember the white haired man that stayed with us, Jiraya-san? This is one of his books." Sasuke said, holding up the book so Naruto could see the title on the cover. "Oh yeah... he was weird." Naruto cocked his head. "Is is any good? I don't think I ever read a book just for a story. Just schoolbooks." "Well, it's not amazing, but it does have a certain appeal that makes you want to keep reading. Also, the relationships are really well developed and a have a real... depth... to them." Sasuke said, trying to not sound too enthusiastic about the book. "Oh, I have the first book around here somewhere too. Do you want to read it?" Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I have no interest in reading smut." He stuck his tongue out and winked at Sasuke as he watched Sasuke's face turn red. "I thought you said you didn't know this book!?" Sasuke said indignantly sitting up straighter and shutting the book. "No, I said I never read it, but I know about it. Hisato read them too. He even took them to work as well. But this is a new part to the series, so I didn't recognise the cover." He said. Sasuke felt embarrassed and a little caught. He had been reading that book in front of Naruto assuming Naruto didn't know about it's content, but knowing Naruto knew he liked reading this stuff was almost a bit much. Sasuke felt his dignity dwindle as they were looking at each other, Sasuke with a still growing blush and Naruto with a big grin. "Aw, Sasu, no need to be this embarrassed." He cooed at Sasuke. He moved so he was on his knees and leaned in towards Sasuke and kissed him. "It's fine if you like stuff like that. But you are really cute when you blush like that, looking all flustered... I wonder... were you reading a smutty chapter just now? Wanna try and reenact it with me?" Naruto wiggled an eyebrow over his gleaming red eye at Sasuke, who was now fully flustered and embarrassed. He scooched a bit closer to Sasuke and ran his hands over Sasuke's sides. "S-stop it." Sasuke stuttered, pushing Naruto to sit back on his legs. He wanted to get up and walk away, but as soon as he was on his feet, Naruto hugged him. Naruto was still on his knees and his arms were wrapped around Sasuke's hips. "Is there a scene in there that starts with this position? Did you like it?" Naruto asked and moved his hands to hold Sasuke's hips. He then kissed Sasuke right above his groin, his lips on the fabric of Sasuke's shirt, exaggerating the movements and rubbing his face into the softness of Sasuke's belly. He didn't need to look at Sasuke to know the poor boy was probably at a whole new level of embarrassment right now and probably already struggling to hold it together, but he just loved teasing Sasuke like this. Naruto pushed Sasuke back so he had no choice but to sit back down again with Naruto still holding on to his waist. "Or was it more like this?" Naruto was now on his knees in between Sasuke's legs and looked up at him with a cheeky grin. Sasuke was so red and flustered at this point no logical sounds came out of him anymore. Naruto pushed Sasuke's shirt up a bit, revealing a little skin just above his pants. Naruto peppered the naked skin with small kisses, sneaking in small licks and moans as he did so. Sasuke grabbed at his hair, trying to push him away, but the strong grip in Naruto's hair just elicited another moan from him, a little more genuine than the rest of them. Naruto kept kissing and licking as Sasuke struggled to get him off of him. After a while, Naruto let Sasuke pull him back a bit, but wasn't about to let Sasuke win the struggle. With another smile, Naruto got up and sat down on Sasuke's lap, straddling and kissing him again before he was even fully seated. He broke the kiss for a moment. "Or maybe something like this?" He asked and kissed Sasuke again before he had a chance to answer. Naruto made small rolling moves with his hips and got a moan out of Sasuke with that. Sasuke slapped his hand over his mouth in embarrassment and suddenly stood up. Naruto landed sprawled on the floor and Sasuke looked at him with embarrassment and slight agitation on his face. He still used his hand to cover his face and quickly walked out of the room, not saying a word. Naruto laughed as Sasuke fled the room. "Sasuke, you're so shy..." He mumbled. All too soon he regretted teasing Sasuke bad enough to get him to walk out on him. Naruto layed back on the carpet, much like he did before, and sighed. "Argh, now I'm bored _and_ alone! I should have taken it a little slower..." He grumble in frustration, kicking the air. "House arrest sucks!"


	30. Frustrations

Sasuke went straight for the shower, shedding his clothing as soon as he closed the door behind him and locking the door. He caught a flash of himself in the mirror and was surprised that his nose wasn't bleeding. He could have sworn with how much he blushed, it would have been a given. Maybe it wasn't true that someone could get a bloody nose from excitement? Or maybe it had more to with the fact that his blood was rushing elsewhere at the moment... 

He stood under the warm streaming water, leaning against the wall with both arms and letting his head hang. He had his eyes closed and was trying really hard to calm down, but neither the water nor the seclusion was helping him with his issue. 

He had never felt more embarrassed than the moment Naruto called him out on his book. It was like having a weakness exposed and he didn't like the idea of anyone knowing his weaknesses. On top of that, he had never felt his blood flow... t-that way as fast as it did when Naruto was on his knees in front of him and looking up at him with those perfectly begging eyes glistening with mirth and mischief. Images crossed his mind of Naruto doing the stuff that damned book described to him, adding to his recent most favorite memory and forming a vision real enough to almost imagine the physical feeling of being engulved by Naruto's soft lips and hot wetness of his mouth...

Sasuke shook his head trying to shake the image. He came here to get the image out of his head, not reenact it and imagining it more real. But he couldn't help it. He was hard enough now for it to ache and he regretted walking out on Naruto, but he couldn't admit to it and go back to Naruto. His embarrassment kept him from doing so. Just the thought of Naruto either smug about this or pitying him was more than he could handle. 

He took a few slow breaths to try and calm down. He was actually trembling a bit and he felt strained and labored. The image of Naruto in front of him as he sat with a hand burried in Naruto's hair bubbled up in his mind, causing another throb in his lower region and a blush on his face.

Damnit. He hit the wall with his fist in frustration, but no matter how much he tried to force his mind elsewhere, his mind kept going back. He placed a hand on his underbelly, the spot Naruto had kissed and licked at and felt a nervous excitement settle in his stomach. What would it really feel like? Would he be able to handle it?

Then a thought crossed his mind that was almost enough to get him to calm down. Even if they did want to continue, was it even possible? He had no experience, not even with women and he was pretty sure that Naruto didn't either. And even if either of them had experience, how would the same thing work with two men?

Argh, but the image of Naruto kneeled down... and his soft kisses and needy touches... Even his questions and doubts couldn't chase that image from his mind. Naruto was so free with what he did and not for the first time Sasuke wished to be a little more like that. He probably would have stayed, maybe even gone along with it, to who knows what kind of conclusion. The thought was enough to draw out a fierce blush once more and a frustrated growl. He was supposed to have more control than this! He never had issues like this before!

An almost painful throb pulled him out of his thoughts, back to the problem at hand and he made it a problem in hand. He hated this. He avoided it and only did this to himself when he felt like it was absolutely necessary and there was no denying that right now, this was a situation where it was absolutely necessary. The act was primal and usually driven without reason other then releasing tension, things he didn't want to associate with himself, but now, with thoughts of Naruto swirling in his mind, the experience didn't feel that bad. It was more intense and it felt so different just by imagining the touch was Naruto's. 

He bit his thumb on his other hand to suppress making any embarrassing sounds, but the occasional grunt still escaped him. This was horrible and it felt so good. He let himself end up on his knees and grunted unrestrained. His breathing was fast with the occasional quiver every time his fingers massaged his most sensitive spot. He almost didn't want to continue. He felt a little scared cumming with Naruto so firmly on his mind, ashamed to be using him just for this selfish reason. It wasn't right, but that didn't stop him from feeling so good. 

It didn't take a lot more to get him over the edge. He closed his eyes again, letting the image of Naruto on his knees dominate his mind for the next moments as he quickened his strokes just a little more. The tension in his stomach quickly build up to a point where he couldn't quite keep his hips still and with a few more jerks, he came with a cry he muffled with his hand. The pouring water immediately washed everything away, leaving only his panting breath and his blush as evidence of what he just did. 

It took a few more moments to collect himself and for his regrets to settle in. He had been louder than he had wanted to be and he only hoped Naruto hadn't heard him. There was no way he could look Naruto in the eyes again for the rest of the day after this as it was, let alone if Naruto would have heard him. 

To think someone could rile him up this fast and this badly didn't sit well with him either, even if it was Naruto. Did he cross a line he shouldn't have by doing this or should he have crossed it in a different way? Like, together with Naruto..? He felt so stupid right now. And awkward. 

There was a soft tap at the door, startling him out of his thought. "Yeah?" He asked, cursing to himself about how shot his voice sounded. He cleared his throat and stood up.

"Sasuke, are you alright? You've been in there for quite some time..." Naruto said through the door, sounding a little worried. 

For a moment Sasuke didn't know what to say. Had he really been in here that long? "Yeah, uhm, yeah, I'm fine, I was just..." He let his voice trail off. He didn't really have anything to add to that. What was he doing to say? 'I was just horny'? 'I was just using your image to jerk off to'? Hell no. 

"Oh, okay... You went in there so fast. I don't think you even grabbed a towel." Naruto said, and Sasuke heard him turn the door knob. "So I brought you one." Sasuke watched Naruto step into the shower from behind the frosted glass, Naruto's silhouette outlined by the light from his bedroom. Wait, hadn't he locked the door? Maybe he forgot? 

Naruto froze for a second, but then stepped closer. "I'll leave it here." He said, placing the towel on the closed lid of the toilet. 

"T-thanks..." Sasuke said. He couldn't help the blush he was getting. Even through the frosted glass he could clearly see Naruto's shape and movements and even though the glass, Naruto's figure was really hot in the skin tight shirt he was wearing.

Naruto stepped up to the glass and placed a hand on it. He cocked his head. "Sasuke..?" He whispered. Sasuke picked up the slightest but of confusion in Naruto's voice.

Sasuke swallowed to make sure his voice was functioning. "Yeah..?"

Naruto cocked his head to the other side and seemed to think about something, but without being able to make out Naruto's facial expression, Sasuke was left guessing. "...Nevermind. Just hurry already. I'm bored." Naruto said after a few seconds, and then turned around and left the bathroom. 

Naruto closed the door behind him and leaned against it with his back, letting himself slide down until he was seated. He had a blush that could have competed with Sasuke's the moment Sasuke fled the room. In Naruto's innocence he thought it was a good idea to bring Sasuke a towel, but the moment he entered the bathroom he was a blushing mess. He could smell it, Sasuke's excitement from just moments earlier, courtesy of his enhanced senses by Kurama. Sasuke's smell was so strong and the confined, damp room didn't do anything to lessen it. It was thick in the air... 

For a moment he had stared at Sasuke, who turned around to be facing Naruto. It was only than that Naruto had fully realised that Sasuke was completely naked not five feet away from him, and only separated by a thin layer of glass. The glass, even frosted, did little to hide the shape on the other side. Did Sasuke even realise he was that visible behind the glass? Naruto had placed his hands on the glass, half having in mind to ask Sasuke to let him join, but given the earlier events, he thought better of is and just walked out as quickly as possible. 

He smiled. It was something else knowing Sasuke was so flustered over him... It was cute, but at the same time he hadn't expected that from Sasuke. Not really. Naruto figured that Sasuke would be more in control of himself with stuff like this, but it was good to know Naruto wasn't the only one with moments like that...

He didn't move from the door until he heard Sasuke finally turn off the water and he heard the sliding door open. Naruto left the bedroom, not wanting Sasuke to be any more embarrassed. He went to the kitchen, sat down and waited. It didn't take long for him to get bored again. He slumped over the table and sighed. He really needed to find something he could do around the house that didn't involve Sasuke... He got bored way too easily.

He glanced at Sasuke as he walked in the room and saw Sasuke look back at him. For an awkward moment they just looked at each other, both a slight blush on their cheeks. Sasuke was the first to move, deciding to man up a bit and own his feelings better. He cleared his throat and walked over to Naruto. He snaked an arm around Naruto's shoulder and pulled him into a hug, kissing his temple. "You alright?" He asked. 

Naruto turned in his arms with a big smile and put his arms around Sasuke's neck. "Course I am, you're here!" He said enthusiastically.

"You say that like I've been gone for days." Sasuke looked down at Naruto's face and smiled when he saw the blue eye bright.

Naruto shrugged. "Days or hours or minutes, it's all the same to me once I'm bored." 

"What are you, a dog?" Sasuke teased, cupping Naruto's cheek and giving him a quick kiss. He moved away to rummage through the kitchen in search of snacks. 

Naruto rolled his eyes at him. "Time gets weird when I'm bored..." He said, slumping over the table with his hands in front of him. The times he spent being bored in the department, in the dark, alone, had taught him to be patient while he was bored, but also to appreciate company on a whole other level than normal people would. And it was true. Being bored made time weird. Bored was bored, and Naruto had learned to take that as one happening, much like sleeping. Whether someone slept for a few hours or a whole night, both could feel equally long, a short nap could feel longer than a whole night of sleep or you could wake up after a full night of sleep and it could feel like you just bsrely closed your eyes. For Naruto being bored was pretty much the same. So bored was bored, no matter how long it took. Breaking the boredom was always the best feeling, and Naruto was very happy for Sasuke to be the one to break it now. "Alright, I am drawing a complete blank. Do you have any idea what we can do until this house arrest thing is over?" Naruto said exasperated.

"Really? It's been half a day and you're already out of ideas?" Sasuke said, leaning his elbows on the table opposite Naruto.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, sitting up straight and looking seriously at Sasuke. "So, what have you got?" 

"I don't know, training in the backyard? A spar, maybe? I could go into town and buy stuff for you if you have something you want. Oh, I could also teach you how to be a better cook! You know, teach you how to add flavour so when you cook dinner, we can actually enjoy it!" 

"Really..? Really, Sasuke? A pun at my amazing cooking skill? That's what you're going for after practically challenging me to a spar?" He smirked and stood up. "Oh, you're on, buddy! And if I win, I'm never cooking again. Yeah." He said, nodding and pointing at Sasuke. "It'll all be on you for as long as we live." 

"Fine, but if I win, you'll not only learn how to cook and we'll cook in turn, but you'll have you wash the dishes alone!" Sasuke said, also standing up and leaning on the table with one hand, pointing at Naruto. They were glaring at each other for a moment when suddenly Naruto grinned and winked. "You just lost, sweetie." He said in a dangerously calm voice. "You'll find out why soon enough." And with that, Naruto walked out of the kitchen and to the backyard. 

Sasuke didn't know what Naruto just did, but he had the sinking feeling Naruto was right about him having already lost and he regretted not having added any rules to their little bet beforehand. He gathered some courage and followed Naruto outside. Time to get his ass handed to him his own backyard...


	31. Naruto's side

Morino sighed. He didn't like this at all. He already had his doubt about the pink-haired girl that Naruto was made to team up with, but now it turned out to be even worse than he thought it would be. 

He had expected a confrontation, some animosity towards Naruto, and maybe even a small fist-fight, but an outright attempt to kill Naruto? No, he had not expected that. 

Morino didn't know the details beforehand. He and Inoichi were going to talk to both Naruto and the girl, and he very much preferred to go in with as little third hand information as possible. 

They heard Sakura's version of events first and had determined her to be truthful. She looked genuine in her story and neither Inoichi nor Morino saw any signs of lies. But both of them also knew perspective determined truth, and what one perceived as true didn't necessarily mean it also was the truth for someone else.

The moment Naruto walked into the room, something felt a little off. The ANBU that was assigned as his guard looked unimpressed and didn't really show any interest in his charge. He just disappeared into the rafters as soon as Sarutobi waved his dismissal. The Uchina boy, on the other hand, was glued to Naruto's side and seemed pretty set on being allowed to stay. That was unexpected, but Morino was happy Naruto already made a friend. The quick touch Sasuke gave Naruto and the grateful puppy dog eyes directed back at Sasuke were enough for Morino to question the Uchiha's intentions with Naruto. He narrowed his eyes, watching the Uchiha take a spot in the corner. He'd need to find out if there was too much going on between them both. Of course this feeling had nothing to do with the overprotectiveness he felt towards Naruto...

What really looked off what Naruto himself. He acted skittish and timid and if there was one thing Naruto had never been, it was timid. Naruto looked around sheepishly. The chair for Naruto stood in the middle of the room. Morino and Inochi were standing close to it and the rest of people present were seated behind desks facing Naruto. It was supposed to create a pressing atmosphere, having so many eyes on you and literally being the centre of attention. Sasuke folded his arms and watched, clearly not completely agreeing with the set-up. 

After a few moments Naruto sat down. His eyes shifted through the room, seemingly to register every single person in the room in detail. There was a wariness in this eyes, fear of being judged by strangers, perhaps, but more there was more there that Morino couldn't place. Sarutobi stood up. "Naruto." Naruto's head snapped to Sarutobi, his eyes big like he got startled. "I would like to hear your story of the entire mission." He said in a friendly voice. Naruto's eyes shifted back and forth to him, revealing his blue eye to be shining, but not in the way it always did. It looked almost forced, the way his eyes were slightly closed like he was straining to see something. It was suble and left the impression Naruto was having a headache, sensitive to light and maybe sound with the way he reacted to being talked to. 

Naruto nodded and started his story. The most difficult part was just listening to Naruto. Morino could see the blond was trying really hard to keep himself on one and the same track, but both Inoichi and Morino already knew that something like that was difficult for Naruto and it just made him look like he was making things up. Morino half had in mind to tell Naruto to stop and start again, just so they could get the story out of him as they were used from him, random, incoherent and perfectly truthful. 

Morino and Inoichi didn't doubt he was telling the truth, but others weren't able to pick up on it as easily. Kakashi had trouble following, his eyes sceptical and a little narrowed at the blond as he spoke. Sarutobi wasn't sceptical, but he still seemed a bit troubled. 

Morino sighed. Naruto was stumbling over his words again and it was clear to Morino he was struggling to keep himself in check to try and make the most sense. Too bad he was failing at it. "Hokage-sama, can I have a short word with Naruto before we continue? I think Yamanaka-san will agree to the necessity of it." He said, interrupting Naruto, who seemed a bit relieved at that. Inoichi nodded his agreement.

Kakashi looked at Sarutobi to see what the old man would do. Ofcourse, Sarutobi allowed it and Morino stepped up to Naruto. He lowered himself into a crouch to be on eye level with Naruto. Up close it was even more clear that Naruto was in turmoil, but what Morino didn't understand was why Naruto was trying to keep his blue side at the forefront when clearly a more serious part of him would be better suited in this situation. "Naruto." Morino said in a voice quiet enough to go unheard by most of the room. "Why are you holding yourself back? You know you don't have to, right? Yamanaka-san and I are here and we know you better than this." 

Naruto wasn't looking at him, which struck Morino as weird, because Naruto was quite keen on eye contact most of the time. "Look at me, Naruto." Naruto looked at Morino, but did so reluctantly. When their eyes met it was clear Naruto had something going on, but the way he looked at Morino told him that it was an issue for later, something unrelated to the issue at hand. "Now tell me why." Morino added, trying to give a stern look. 

Naruto's eyes shot to Sasuke and then to Sakura before looking back at Morino. "I don't want to be locked up again." He confined to Morino, but not in a surpressed voice like Morino so everyone heard him. "But I also don't want Sakura to be in trouble..." He added. He seemed to shrink in on himself, making him look smaller than he already was. An unrestrained 'Hn' from the sidelines indicated that Sasuke had heard and disagreed. At the same time Sakura produced a sound between a huff and a gasp. She had already done her story in the same amount of detail as she had to Shikamaru and she had already made it quite clear she wasn't expecting any kind of punishment. After all, she was defending herself against a convicted criminal that had been taunting her for days prior. 

Naruto either didn't notice or ignored both Sasuke's and Sakura's reactions and instead waited for Morino's response. He seemed tense and nervous. "It's not like I died. I don't even have scars. I'd be fine just letting this go." He said in a small voice. Morino didn't understand why Naruto said this. What was going on in the blond's head to want to overlook an attempt on his life?

Morino crossed his arms. "That's fine if you don't want that, but that isn't your decision, Naruto. We have rules as a society that everyone needs to follow. The only thing you need to do is be honest, so the people trained to know the rules can judge by those rules." 

Naruto looked down and nodded. Rules. There were always rules. Most of them fair, but some definitely weren't. For a moment, a very short moment, Naruto felt like lashing out against those rules. Slash though everyone that expected him to obey the arbitrary rules set into effect by self-suppression of sheep-minded people. Hiding behind rules for their own lack of strength. Rules shouldn't matter to him. Trivial and cumbersome. But the thoughts were gone as quick as they came. He tensed for a second, not understanding where the thoughts had come from, yet knowing there was some truth to it. He blinked a few times, trying to get the weird pressure out of his head. There had been a pressure in the back of his head ever since he met Konohamaru. At first he barely felt it and easily dismissed it, but over the last few days it had gradually become more pressing. It didn't hurt, but it felt like there wasn't enough room in his head or something. That feeling shouldn't be that new to him, seeing as he was already balancing five personalities, but this was different. The pressure made everything more intense. Light, sound, the feeling of his clothing rubbing against his skin, the smells in the air. Everything seemed to have an edge of new-ness to it, like he was experiencing everything for the first time, or in greater detail. 

He shook his head, returning his focus to Morino. Morino was looking at him like he had just asked Naruto a question and was waiting for an answer, but Naruto had completely missed it. "Sorry, what?" He asked intelligently, grinning a little. Morino looked at him worried. Maybe Morino had noticed as well something was off?

"I asked if you could please tell us without holding yourself back so much. You make a lot more sense that way, believe it or not." Morino said with a small, but strained smile at the end. It was clear he wanted to break the tension with a small joke. Naruto returned his smile and nodded.

"Okay, I will... or maybe I could show you?" He said, ending the remark in a question. Morino stepped back, looking a little uncomfortable. He glanced at Inoichi, who looked puzzled as well. 

"How would you do that?" Inoichi asked.

In a flash Naruto looked different, his eyes shifted from red to blue and a smirk was plastered on his face. "I can play with your mind..." He said, then snickered into his hand. He blinked again and seriousness settled over him. "Genjutsu." He added in an almost whisper. 

Morino looked at Inoichi. "Is that even possible? A Genjusti of someone's memory?"

"Yes." It was Sasuke who answered, drawing all eyes to him. He looked around, almost surprised at the attention given to him. "It has been done to me, a long time ago." He added. "But that was through the Sharingan. Maybe it's not possible without it?" 

"I can." Naruto chirped enthusiastically, holding his hand up and smiling. "I could probably do it to everyone at once!" 

"You could?" Kakashi asked, looking interested in the possibility. 

"Maybe..." He said smiling. 

Morino and Inoichi walked over to the Hokage and discussed it quietly. Naruto cocked his head as he listened to every whispered word, catching all of them without effort. His smile morphed into a smirk as he heard the men reach the conclusion that they wanted to see. Not just because it was intriguing, but also because they thought it might speed up the process. 

Morino and Inoichi turned around and both nodded at Naruto. Naruto slowly stood up, raising his eyes to meet theirs. They were met with dangerously serious eyes, one gleaming red. He stepped around his chair and backed towards the door so he could see everyone better. 

He raised his hands, holding both hands up next to his head. He held up two fingers on both hands and moved them sideways slightly. His fingers drew in the attention of everyone in the room. The movements were captivating and smooth. A ticking sound joined his movement, like the tick of a second on a clock. The tick wasn't loud, but it was echoed by three more ticks a little less sharp and loud. It was rithmic, the loud tick on the second, the 3 others spaced perfectly between them, forming a four step beat. 

A low buzz was added, the sound started far away and seemed unimportant, easily disregarded. But it grew louder, more intence and slowly it became unavoidable. Sakura was the first to crumble. She shook her head, grasping at it, before she sank to her knees. Kakashi looked at her in alarm, but the sudden movement he made pulling him under as well, admitting to the pressure that the sound had build up. The rest followed shortly after. Before the next second ticked, everyone except Naruto were down and out. 

Naruto stood smirking, letting his memory fill the other minds in the room. For a few of them he pushed in a few selected other memories. Sasuke he granted a look into his past, a specific memory of his childhood in which he met with an ANBU. The ANBU had saved him from an assault, even fed him a meal afterwards and he bad never asked anything in return. Naruto never saw him again, but Naruto had seen the Weasel-masked ANBU use his Sharingan, so he linked the man to Sasuke. Maybe Sasuke took some value in the memory.

Then Sakura, he gave her the the unabridged version of the day leading up to the moment they entered the forest. He stopped it there. No need for her to know the rest... yet....

He gave Sarutobi a few haunting memories from his time in the department, especially from the first few weeks he was there. He smirked, knowing the old man would be riddled with guilt for at least some time.

Kakashi got a whole other deal. The love of his books was turned real for him, letting his own thoughts guide him like Naruto usually used fear to guide the Genjutsu. It might seem kind, but Naruto knew the good Hokage had no use for female attention, pretty much like Sasuke read the smut, but also wasn't truly interested in it. After all, that's what made it possible for Kakashi to read that book out in public without nose-bleeding every couple of pages. He was one of the select few to actually read it for the sake of the story... So yeah, he was just purely messing with Kakashi at this point. 

He sat down on the floor in front of the door. This had taken more energy than he bargained for and he needed to catch his breath a little. It wasn't as bad as trying to use it while he had been in cuffs, but it definitely strained him. 

He sat there for a while, enjoying the silence and seeing everyone jerk from time to time. He turned his head sideways and then the other way, trying to lessen the pressure, but it didn't do much good. He left like everything was going as well as it could and he felt confident he wouldn't be locked away again. He would go home with Sasuke after this. He smiled at the thought of spending some alone time with Sasuke. If he was a little less intense, maybe they could have a very special moment together as a celebration.

And then he heard something. A whisper. It crept into his mind and seemed to ban all other thoughts and it made him stand up in a panic. The voice was cold and definitely not his but there was no denying it came from inside his mind. He had his hands open beside him like claws, a tic running through them from time to time as the voice echoed the same words once again.

_"Kill them. Let's kill them. Savour their blood..."_


	32. Judgement

Naruto shook his head like an animal that had been hit on the nose. He rubbed his hands over his eyes and then grasped at the back of his neck. The voice was hissing at him, egging him on to move and lash out at everything. The flash of thoughts that rules shouldn't apply to him flashed through his mind again, but this time he recognised them as whispered by the voice. But he also realised they were his own, his mind, just more primal. The whispers sounded demonic and evil and pressed against his mind like instinct. The presence felt ancient and powerful, but for all it was, it didn't seem to be able to override his cognitive mind. Not on its own, anyway. He could give in, but he could also choose not to, it seemed.

The pressure in his head seemed to settle in a tingling sensation after that realisation, raking through his spine and radiating to his limbs in odd spikes. It was frustrating in a satisfying way and it didn't make sense. He felt like when he would give into this, he'd be cast into a world of pleasure, but it felt too dangerous, demanding and dominant to give into it. If he let his mind settle into the bliss that was being promised to him, he was sure he wouldn't have any control over his body and he wasn't sure if there would be a way to get it back.

The strength and conviction in the voice had died down by a lot now that he knew he had control. It was still scary, though, because he knew that when another part of him was at the forefront, a part that was already more intoned to instinct, he probably would have given in to it easily.

He grunted, releasing his grip on the base of his neck and letting himself slough forwards a bit with his hands in his lap. His nails were longer and looked sharper that he had ever seen them before. They were more like claws with the way they were discoloured, yellowish and thick. Animalistic and definitely linked to the weird sensation in his mind. He hid them by balling his fists and noticed his hands were shaking in effort. Maybe the Genjustu on multiple targets took more from him than he first thought.

He rose his head, watching the people slumped in their seats, some on the floor, slowly breathing. He needed to wake them. He needed some kind of help and his eyes were naturally drawn to Sasuke's form, but before that he needed to know their intentions with him. It might determine his next course of action, because despite his love for the village, he wasn't sure if he could bare to stay if it meant being locked away again.

Leaning against the door he stood up, whimpering at the sensation running through him that seemed to intensify with movement. Moving was hard. Not difficult due to weakness or exhaustion, but it was like he needed to fight for control over his movements. 

He pushed more Chakra into the Genjutsu, making them speed up, but the extra effort took a lot out of him and left him pretty much breathless. 

He straightened up and tried to look like he was just a little weary of using so much Chakra. Soon, almost everyone was up again, glancing at Naruto who was breathing hard. He grinned to hide his grimace, putting his hands behind his head to hide his shaking. It seemed to work. There was more awe on the faces of the onlookers than anything else. 

"I think we have enough information." Kakashi said, looking at Sarutobi, who nodded in agreement. 

"Yes. It is quite evident that Sakura-chan was in the wrong, based on this and the testimonies from the rest of the team." Sarutobi said.

The attention of the room moved to Sakura, giving Naruto a second to breath now the pressure was off of him. A smile tugged at his lips at the idea that they weren't blaming him, that they were fair in their judgement and that they didn't measure with a double standard because he was involved. Even Kakashi seemed to be swayed more and more to be positive about Naruto, which was nice in and of itself. Naruto felt a little more confident about his future within the village, knowing the next Hokage, at the very least, wasn't directly against him, but would also treat him fair.

He noticed Sasuke hadn't joined the others in looking at Sakura. His eyes were still trained on Naruto and when the discussion turned to what punishment was going to await Sakura, Sasuke started to slowly making his way towards Naruto. "Are you alright?" Sasuke whispered. Naruto smiled at him with that special smile and he nodded. Sasuke returned the smile.

"Just tired. It took a little more than I expected it would." He confided to Sasuke.

"Well, it was amazing. I've never seen someone doing such a thing... What was that part with the ANBU?" Sasuke asked. He had a suspicion it was his brother, but he wasn't quite sure. 

"That was just for you. I figured you might recognise him despite the mask. Your brother did something bad, but he was kind to me. I don't think he was evil." Naruto said, letting his eyes wander back to Sakura. He saw Sasuke nod in the corner of his eyes and knew they were going to talk about this more, but first this needed to be finished. "What will happen to Sakura?" Naruto asked as he looked at Sakura, who stood near tears and looked more desperate with each passing word spoken by Sarutobi. 

"Guess we'll find out soon enough." Sasuke answered, snaking an arm around Naruto's waist as he also turned to face Sakura. The moment Sasuke touched him, the voice in his mind growled out, sending a jolt down his spine. Naruto almost jumped as the sensation, making Sasuke snap back his attention to Naruto. Naruto just grinned innocently and went back to watching the conversation. He slowly realised the pressing sensation, the tingles and the weird urge were all gone. He drew in a long and steady breath as relief washed over him. It felt like something satisfied his instinct, calming it down, at least for the moment. This was something he needed to figure out later. Right now, he chose to focus on Sakura.

"Girl, what on earth possessed you to attempt to kill a fellow Shinobi like that? Don't you know what kind of consequences that could have for you?" Morino asked. There was anger in his voice, but he did a good job at hiding it for the most part. 

Sakura looked furious as well, but unlike Morino, she did little to hide the insult and anger she felt. "He killed my mother! He stole Sasuke from me! I don't understand why everyone is taking the side of that monster! He's the murderer, not me! He's the one that taunted me the entire trip, it the other way around!" She still had enough self control to not be yelling, but that's all that could be said for that. She looked at Naruto, a hateful glare directed straight at him. It was enough to make him uncomfortable with the intensity of it. Naruto averted his gaze and hid his face in Sasuke's neck, turning his body towards Sasuke as well. He didn't like it, this anger directed at him. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He almost felt like she deserved whatever punishment they were going to give her. She was relentless, even when he tried to gain her forgiveness. "And when I spoke out against being teamed up with him, I was told to ignore my feelings and just accept it. How do you expect me to just accept the killer of my mother like that?" She cried out, tears running down her face in frustration. 

"As a Shinobi you should have been able to handle your emotions." Kakashi told her. His words came out harsh, making her flinch. She looked down, on the edge of breaking into tears again. "If you can't, then maybe the Shinobi life isn't the life you should be leading." Naruto could tell Kakashi saw her behavior towards him as the worst betrayal someone could do and Naruto actually felt a little nervous for Sakura. He didn't want her to be locked away anymore than he himself wanted to be locked away. There was something inherently cruel about locking someone up and he didn't wish it on to anyone. 

"Kakashi, you might be right, but there is no need to be this callous towards her." Sarutobi said, and directed his attention to Sakura. "Sakura-chan, despite the reasons behind your actions, even if they are understandable, your actions were still very severe and you must understand that this cannot go unpunished." He said in a calm and friendly tone. "You will be suspended from all your Shinobi duties except your work in the hospital, which I will classify as essential. That means there will be no more fieldwork for you in the near future. Don't expect a possibility to further your studies outside of Konoha as well. I know you wanted that to study poisons, but you will not be allowed outside Konoha until further notice. You will also be stripped back to the rank of Genin, until such time that you have proven your worth again to be named Chunin or higher. On top of that, you'll get a restraining order to keep your distance from Naruto and you'll have several sessions with Yamanaka-san to evaluate your state of mind." Sakura glanced at Inoichi. He hadn't said a word to his adopted daughter yet and was also avoiding meeting her gaze. When she saw the disappointment on the face of the man that practically raised her, she looked down again, renewed tears running down her cheeks. She nodded silently and waited. "I think that was all. Kakashi, do you have anything to add?" 

Kakashi stared at Sakura for a moment, his jaw tense as he thought about it. "No, nothing." He said after a moment, though it was clear that was not completely true, but Kakashi decided against adding to it with something that might be a little too much for the situation. Like banishment. Or torture. If those that abandon their comrades are lower than scum, what the hell was a Shinobi that tried to kill a fellow Shinobi? And not just a member of the same village, but a team member at that! It was going to be a long path for Sakura to earn his trust again.

"Naruto, you are cleared of the accusations against you by Sakura. You were not at fault and you are free to go." Sarutobi said. Naruto turned towards him and gave a short nod and a small smile, one he dropped quickly when he glanced at Sakura. He was happy, but she wasn't. But the judgement was better than he had expected. Had they wanted to lock her away, he would have protested against it, though he wasn't sure she would have accepted his help even if it would benefit her. She was adamant about never accepting anything from him and this would probably be no different, even if it would have helped her greatly.

It was fine like this, Naruto realised. Those were her own actions and these were the consequences she created for herself. The rules applied to her as they did to him and everyone else. He glanced at Sasuke. He seemed to be satisfied with the outcome as well judging by the content smile and the soft pressure on Naruto's back by Sasuke's hand. 

They were dismissed shortly after and Naruto couldn't be happier about that. The stuffy room and all talking was exhausting. Not to mention the tension of waiting for his answer that could once again have been life changing. He was happy everything was settled now.

Once they were outside, Naruto stretched out with a grunt, then turned to face Sasuke. "Take me somewhere to eat?" He said grinning. 

"Sure, why not?" Sasuke said, smiling himself as well. "Where do you want to go?" 

There was only one answer to that one. "Ichiraku's!"


	33. Getting Complicated

The next day Sasuke and Naruto were called to the Hokage office. They were getting a new mission, again with Shikamaru and Choji, but without Ino, because she was staying behind for Sakura's sake. As compensation, Asuma joined their team. 

After leaving the village, they set out at a decent speed. They stuck closer together than the last time they travelled, since they were missing two members and didn't want to be separated by a surprise attack. Sasuke led the group, Asuma and Shikamaru guarded the left and right flank and Choji followed to guard the back. That left Naruto in the middle, like he was being escorted. In a way, he was. After all, he was the target for the very group they were hunting down and it couldn't harm to safeguard the target of your target.

It was another hunt and kill mission, just like before. The Akatsuki members this time were Hidan and Kazuku. There was little information on either of them, other than that they were dangerous and both had a place in the Bingo Book. 

Without the girls, the travel felt a lot faster. They took less breaks and made good time to meet at the rendezvous place as indicated by the Hokage. The man they were supposed to meet, an old Shinobi that travelled around a lot but was still affiliated with the leaf, was waiting for them in a hotel near the border to Suna. 

The hotel was cozy and the little town it was situated in was rural and lively. It seemed like a perfect place for a long vacation if you weren't too bothered by sand and heat. The town was just big enough to be fun and entertaining and small enough to go mostly unnoticed. It also made it an ideal place to meet, since tourists weren't that unusual. The man they were meeting sat in front of the hotel on a small bench. He had a wok and cooking utensils on his back and just seemed generally happy to be where he was. 

When they approached, the man looked up, smiled and waved them to him. "You must be the people I'm supposed to meet. Come, sit with me and enjoy the day for a bit." He said cheerfully, gesturing to the table and chairs nearby. "My name is Maruboshi Kosuke. Nice to meet you."

After introducing themselves, Shikamaru leaned forward in his chair. "You know why we are here. Is there a better place to talk than out here in the open?"

The old man nodded a few times. "I'm guessing your travels were tiring. I suggest you take a few hours to explore the town and rest up before we share the information you seek." He said. "Don't worry, the information will be good for several days, if not the rest of the week. It's better to start a mission all rested instead of rushing ahead and, well, losing your head. Take your time. How about we meet again over dinner? There is a great barbecue restaurant at the end of the street with private rooms." Kosuke nodded again, and then stood up without waiting for an answer. "I'll be around until then. Probably going to find a nice spot for a nap. Have fun, kids." And with that, he was gonem, disappeared from sight, leaving a group of travel-weary Shinobi to fill the time on their own.

"Let's check into the hotel. It seems like we'll be here a while." Asuma said, leading them into the hotel. The obvious division was made, placing Sasuke and Naruto in a room, Shikamaru and Choji in a second room and Asuma in a private room. 

Sasuke and Naruto went walking around town, sightseeing and shopping for souvenirs, killing time mostly. Shikamaru and Choji disappeared to the roof of the hotel together, cloud-watching to pass the time, leaving Asuma free to enjoy a drink and a smoke at the hotel bar. 

When it was time to meet at the barbecue restaurant, Sasuke and Naruto arrived first. Naruto had been completely docile all day, with his blue eye happily shining. He did as Sasuke told him to and was very relaxed all day. There was something about walking around town without withering stares and cold glares directed at him that made him feel relaxed without effort. 

Kosuke joined shortly after and sat next to Naruto. "You look familiar, kid. Who are you?"

Naruto grinned at his. "Uzumaki Naruto! My father was the Fourth!" 

Kosuke's eyes widened a little and then he smiled too. "Really? Now that you say it, you do look remarkably like him. I remember him getting named Hokage and he gave me some missions. From what I could tell, he was a great man. It's good to see his son is following in his footsteps as a Shinobi."

"I didn't know for a long time, but Jiraya-san kind of told me. Well, not directly. Now that I think about it, I guess nobody ever really told me? That's kind of sad, don't you think?" Naruto answered. "But it's okay! Because I met Cat and Dog, and Monkey, Mister Ino-chan and Torture-expert-sama!" He rattled on. "Torture-expert-sama is really nice! But I don't want to live with him again. It's too dark there. And a bit boring. I did get to play from time to time, so that was nice. I think I like the outside better, though, because that's where Sasuke is and I like Sasuke a lot." Kosuke listened and, even if he didn't quite follow the incoherent stories Naruto was telling, he was glad to listen to the boy just ramble on. It was like talking to a three-year-old, just with a bigger vocabulary. Kosuke was yet to decide whether that made the stories more or less easy to follow, but it didn't matter. He was usually alone, so it was a nice change to listen to enthusiastic rambling. Kosuke noticed the black-haired boy was listening as well, but he kept out of the conversation. The smile he showed from time to time told Kosuke he was still invested in the conversation. And entertained by it. He probably understood a lot more of what Naruto was saying and seemed content just listening.

Naruto continued to ramble on, even after the rest arrived and they started eating. Sasuke nudged him from time to time, reminding him that he needed to eat, and give Kosuke a chance to eat as well. By the time they were at the point to talk about the mission and the information Kosuke had, Naruto was yawning and slumping against Sasuke, who didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he snaked an arm around the blond boy in support like it was a natural thing for them. Kosuke decided to ignore it and instead shifted his focus to Asuma and Shikamaru.

"So, the information you wanted. The two you are after are across the border in Suna. It seems they are hunting the youngest son of the Kazekage, named Gaara. There was another team dispatched for this a few years ago, but they failed at the first attempt. Gaara and his father were away at the time. The Akatsuki had been misinformed about Gaara's whereabouts and without the Kazekage and their Jinchuuriki to defend the village, this led to the partial destruction of Sunegakure. They have rebuild since then, stronger and bigger then before, but it did cost them the oldest son of the Kazekage. It did change Gaara for the better, or so I've been told." Kosuke said. "The team you're after right now is held up in a cave in a mountain to the north of the village. I don't know the exact location, but it is about a day and a half travel from the village. Show me your map, I'll mark the general area."

Asuma got the map out and Kosuke circled a rather large area. "I'm sorry I can't be more precise. I don't have a lot of access to information from across the border. I am, after all, just a Genin and mostly I don't get access to any important information..." He smirked and sat back, letting Asuma and Shikamaru look at the area marked on the map. 

"Why did you say we have a week?" Shikamaru asked. 

"It seems they are waiting in that hideout for reinforcements, or at the very least for the 'okay' to attack. There are rumours the Kazekage will be going on a trip within the next two weeks, without Gaara, leaving the village and Gaara more vulnerable than they have been in a long time. I think that's the moment they are waiting for. Either way, they shouldn't be moving too much until then."

"Hmm, we don't have any sensory Shinobi with us right now. Sasuke, your Sharingan might be a little useful, but I don't think that will be enough to locate two people held up inside the mountains... Maybe we should ask for team eight to join us in the search. If we have a week, we could maybe wait it out..." Shikamaru said, looking thoughtful as he placed his hands together with just the fingertips touching. 

"That wouldn't leave us with much time to rethink our plan if they are unavailable or not able to make it in time. Even if they are here within a week, that would leave them no time to search." Asuma said.

"We can plan and move as though they won't reach us in time, but still send the request. If anything, back-up is never a bad thing." Choji added.

"Tsk, troublesome. I'll think on it tonight, make a plan. Sending a message tomorrow morning would still give us the time we need and that way I'll have time to really work this out." Shikamaru said, looking tired already.

"Well, it seems like you have some stuff to sort through. I'll be taking my leave then. I'm travelling East starting tomorrow morning. I wish you all a good night!" Kosuke said as he got up with a smile, made a small bow and left the restaurant. They finished eating and after that Sasuke and Naruto left. Shikamaru, Choji and Asuma were the last to leave and they found the bill a little higher than expected. It seemed like the Eternal Genin skipped on his bill...

Sasuke and Naruto made their way back to the hotel. Naruto was a little annoying because he was tired. Like a three-year-old he was whining about having to walk, about how his stomach was too full, that Sasuke wasn't paying enough attention to him, that he was thirsty and other stuff small stuff like that. Sasuke was all too glad when Naruto face-planted into the soft pillow on his bed. It didn't take long for Naruto to be out like a light, curled up in the blankets and snuggling the pillow he took from Sasuke's bed. Sasuke filled a little more time reading before he too went to sleep after searching the room for the extra pillow that was usually stuffed in a closer somewhere.

Naruto woke up before Sasuke the next morning. He woke up sitting in the corner of the room, his arms folded across his chest and his legs pulled up. He felt weird and groggy. He had muscle pains all over and he felt like he hadn't slept at all. He also didn't remember how he ended up in the corner of the room, sitting like a tight ball with cramped muscles. 

He unfurled himself and slammed a hand over his mouth to stop himself from yelling out. There was blood on his clothing. A lot of blood. His legs and shirt were soaked. So were his hands, which, once again, had enlarged nails. He felt himself shaking at the sight. He didn't mind the blood at all, but... he didn't remember doing anything to end up covered in it. 

His eyes snapped to Sasuke. A pit of fear in his stomach he might have done something to Sasuke, but Sasuke seemed fine. He was still quietly sleeping in a clean bed. Naruto's eyes scanned the room further and to his relief he found no other traces of blood anywhere. The only difference in the room compared to last night was the fact that the window was now all the way open, but even on the window sill there wasn't any blood. 

Naruto quietly got up, careful not to make a sound and wake Sasuke up. This situation was getting serious. He had the same pressing feeling in the back of his mind as the time in the Hokage's office. Did he do something bad? Was there something actually wrong in his mind? Other than the obvious issues he had, that is. 

He quickly looked out and around the open window, but found nothing to indicate where the blood had come from. 

Sasuke turned around in his sleep, sending Naruto's heart in overdrive. He didn't want Sasuke, or anyone, to see him like this! He needed to clean himself before he was seen! As quickly and quietly as possible he made his was to the bathroom. It only had a shower, toilet and sink, but it would have to do. 

He stepped in front of the mirror and saw a clear handprint over his mouth, which made him realise that the blood was still liquid. It had to be very fresh to still be liquid. That was both good and bad. Good, because it meant the blood would be a lot easier to clean than dried blood. Bad, because it meant he had done something only minutes ago and he really did not remember anything at all after hogging Sasuke's pillow and falling asleep. 

He needed to hide this. He didn't like hiding things, but there was no way anybody was going to know about this. After washing the clothing and himself, he sealed the clothing in a scroll so he could deal with it at home. He quietly left the bathroom again, got dressed and sat down on his bed to wait until Sasuke woke up.


	34. Weird Feelings and Sensing People

Kuranei's team wasn't going to make it, so they set out towards the mountains with the five of them. The whole time Naruto was acting weird. Well, weirder, but the general consensus was that the blond was too quiet, too obedient and too introverted. Several times Sasuke has had to physically tap his shoulder to even get a response, and it always went the the same. An absent-minded 'Huh? Oh yeah, I guess...' or other vague response no matter what the previous remark had been. 

Naruto's mind was filled with the image of the blood he woke up covered in. It was very hard to focus on anything else and despite having thoroughly washed himself, it was still like he could smell the coppery scent lingering on his skin. It was like a perfume that he could sometimes catch a whiff off. It scared him how much he wanted more. He had always had a thing for blood, but he never actively wanted to create a situation to find it. He would never pass an opportunity to draw blood, but he never sought it out deliberately. Now he felt like he was and that was terrifying. Something had changed within him and he didn't understand what.

When they sat camp for the night, Sasuke saw a chance to actually take Naruto apart and talk to him. "Tell me what's wrong? I know there's something." He pressed.

Naruto looked away. He almost felt ashamed. Sasuke, and Ibiki and others, had done so much to help him, and now he had the feeling that it was all crashing down. Could he tell Sasuke or would Sasuke abandon him? It wasn't unthinkable, for Sasuke to leave, but he really hoped he wouldn't.

"Sasuke..." He started, looking at Sasuke. "I..." He looked down and away. Maybe he shouldn't say anything. Not yet. It could be just a fluke, something he could satisfy with the Akatsuki members they were hunting. He could just paint the world red with their blood and then see how he felt after that. But if he did, what would happen if he really liked it, like, enough to draw him to blood even more? 

"Naruto, if there is anything, anything at all, you can tell me." Sasuke said, stepping closer and cupping Naruto's cheek. The touch sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. He almost felt like he would lose the strength in his legs. A way too strong reaction to just that touch. He closed his eyes, relishing the overreaction because it just felt so good, and he felt like his mind was being swept away by a need to obey Sasuke. Or anyone... but he wanted it to be Sasuke. 

He swallowed and opened his eyes. "I think I did something bad last night, but I don't remember. Your touch is making me feel hot and my mind feel muddled." He just laid it all out. Probably not in the clearest way, but when was he ever clear in the minds of others?

"Are you getting sick?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the first part of what Naruto said in favour of worrying over him first. If Naruto was feeling hot, he might be getting sick and that could become a very bad thing out on a mission.

Naruto followed the movement of Sasuke's hand as it moved to touch his forehead, pressing into it to keep and anchor the connection of bare skin. "No, I don't think I'm getting sick, I... I don't know... It's scary. I'm scared." He admitted. "I..." His breath caught in his throat as Sasuke removed his hand. The loss of contact was somehow almost unbearable and he had to struggle not to whimper pathetically. 

His desperation must have been showing on his face, judging by the look Sasuke was giving him. "Come on, tell me the rest of it." Sasuke said, watching Naruto carefully. He couldn't help but notice Naruto eyes were weird. His blue eye was brighter than his red, but it didn't look right. His eyes were glazed a bit. His eyes were focussed on Sasuke intently, almost unsettlingly strong. Sasuke felt like Naruto wanted or needed something desperately, but it was clear the blond himself didn't even know what. "What did you mean when you said you think you did something wrong?" Sasuke asked, putting a little authority in his voice to push Naruto to talk. 

Naruto blinked and shook his head a little to clear the muddled feeling. "I woke up covered in blood." He blurted out. "But I don't remember anything after falling asleep. Sasuke, what if I harmed someone and I don't even remember doing it? Or what if I hurt you next?" He asked beggingly. He needed reassurance, even if he already knew Sasuke wouldn't have an answer. His eyes gained a new kind of glaze, one of tears, as he looked at Sasuke.

It took Sasuke a second to respond. "Well, I haven't heard anything about something happening when we left town. Maybe it wasn't as bad as you think it is. It could be something completely different." He said. His voice wasn't as certain as Naruto hoped it would be, but he nodded nonetheless. 

"Hey, we'll figure this out." Sasuke said, lifting Naruto's head by gently putting his fingers under his chin. "We'll do it together." He was sincere with what he said. He was not going to leave Naruto that easily. 

Naruto shivered at his touch again and smiled at Sasuke. It wasn't all better, but at least he didn't feel that alone in it anymore. Sasuke smiled back and leaned in to kiss Naruto. Naruto felt nervous. He had never been nervous for a kiss, since it never was very serious... No, that was the wrong way to describe it. He had never been nervous for a kiss, because it was natural and easy, just go with the flow, but now, he felt himself blushing, his heart was pounding and his breath was slightly faster. He was expecting something... something more or different, but he didn't know what. And that made him nervous.

When Sasuke's lips grazed his, he whimpered weakly. He couldn't control it. The sensation was so strong that it actually made him lose his strength. Luckily Sasuke stepped closer and put his arm around Naruto's lower back, giving Naruto the support he needed to stay standing. But the added contact just made it worse at the same time. His mind was screaming to respond to Sasuke, accept it all, no matter what Sasuke would want and Naruto did. He opened his mouth at the first lick, let Sasuke dominate the kiss, he didn't protest against Sasuke's hand sliding under his shirt, or the other into the back of his pants, feeling his ass. He just put his arms around Sasuke's neck, trying to keep himself standing up but, truthfully, his full weight was hanging on Sasuke, who held him up with ease. He wouldn't say no to anything right now. Sasuke wouldn't even need to ask.

He let out another sad whimper when Sasuke slowed the kiss down. He didn't want to slow down, he wanted more. Sasuke pulled back anyway. "Sorry, but I do need to breath from time to time..." Sasuke said with a small smile after a few needed breaths. Naruto burried his head in Sasuke's neck and nodded. "We should get back to the camp. I'm sure Shikamaru wants to go over his plan for the mission." Sasuke said, trying to wiggle out of Naruto's hug. Unfortunately, the blue-eye boy had decided to cling to Sasuke for all eternity, not wanting to let go of the feeling coursing through his every nerve. Sasuke sighed in defeat and instead picked Naruto up and carried him back to camp.

The plan was simple enough, but prone to failure. It was basically to go check every cave they came across in search of signs that people were staying there for a prolonged period of time. Shikamaru wasn't pleased with it in the slightest, but since he was using all resources available, this was the best he could thing off. 

"But if you don't sense someone's presence in the cave, why go into the cave?" Naruto asked. He didn't quite understand. It seemed like a lot of extra effort for something simple. He could always tell who was where in a pretty wide radius around him. That's how he knew Sasuke was Sasuke when he first saw him with the ANBU mask on, or how he knew Cat was in the Hokage office that time. 

Four pairs of eyes stared at him for a second. He was still clinging to Sasuke like his life depended on it, so it was quite an achievement on Sasuke's part to be looking at him too. "What?" He asked.

"You never told me you were a sensory type!" Shikamaru almost yelled.

"I am? And, did you ever even ask?" Naruto threw back.

"You knew we were going to search for hidden Shinobi. If you would have told me you could sense them, I wouldn't even have called for back-up and we could have left a day earlier!" Shikamaru's voice was dripping in exasperation. 

"Well, I didn't know it was something special! And last mission we were looking for people too, and you never asked me then either. I was the one to point them out long before any of you noticed them." Naruto said, and then seemed to realise something. "Huh, I guess you guys really can't sense the people around you. I always wondered why people would act surprised when someone suddenly appears..."

"Oh, Kami, why do I even try? This is too troublesome! " Shikamaru complained to himself. "Fine, at least this will speed things up. Lead us to them, then." He said to Naruto, throwing his hand out in a random direction in an exasperated move to get Naruto to move. 

Finally Naruto unwrapped himself from Sasuke, but the moment he did, he felt like he was abandoning something precious and all he wanted to do was snuggle back against Sasuke. This was beginning to get ridiculous. It was getting worse and he had no way of dealing with it other than clinging to Sasuke, but he couldn't do that now. They needed to start this mission before the Akatsuki members were on the move. He closed his eyes to stabilise himself for a moment, hoping nobody would touch him. That seemed one of the things right now he was overreacting to. 

"Naruto, we're ready to go." Shikamaru was standing in front of him, snapping his fingers. The camp was packed up and everyone seemed ready to leave.

"We're not making camp for the night?" Naruto asked, after blinking a few times. 

"No, we decided to use tonight to get a head start, since we lost some time already." Shikamaru said. Naruto didn't really care his sleep schedule was still a little messed up anyway. The only reasons he slept at night was that Sasuke was asleep then. He just joined him. Naruto nodded. 

"Give me a second, I need to focus so I can feel them out better." Naruto answered, closing his eyes again. People always left this disturbance in the natural flow of energy. He just needed to find it. The stronger someone's presence, the longer the disturbance was left. It was quite easy once you knew what you were looking for to find this. But you did need to learn to feel through your own disturbance and that was the hardest part. 

Naruto set out in a random direction he felt the most disturbed with. Time would tell if this was indeed a human disturbance, or maybe a large animal with high chakra, but the latter was rare so he assumed it was humans. He didn't look back to see if the others were following him. A new feeling washed over him. An excitement. He was using all his senses to find something he was planning on killing. He was hunting and he was loving it. The thrill settled in his bones and drove him to track faster.

Sometimes he stopped dead in his tracks and needed to take a moment before continuing. Other times he turned around a hundred and eighty degrees barely noticing the rest stepping out of his way as he bolted through the group. They were there. They were close. He could distinguish two people now. One seemed more dangerous than the other, but they stayed close together. 

Underground, as expected, but he needed to find the way in. He felt like he was missing something obvious. He suddenly stopped again, grinning this time. He had been moving pretty fast, so the rest had trouble stopping as well. Shikamaru rammed into him full speed and they fell to the ground together. The moment he felt Shikamaru's hand land on his bare skin, the exact same sensation as Sasuke touching him flooded his mind. The only difference was that Naruto did not like it at all. An involuntary snarl left him, trying to get Shikamaru off of him. 

Shikamaru did, as fast as he could and Naruto just stayed down for a moment, trying to get rid of the feeling. He hated this Shikamaru didn't do anything wrong. He just bumped into Naruto, yet it rendered Naruto almost powerless. It made him realise even stronger that something was very wrong right now and he just hoped he'd be strong enough to fight it until they got home.

"Damn, did I hurt you?" Shikamaru asked, thinking Naruto's snarl was one of pain. Naruto shook his head, ignored the hand Shikamaru was holding out for him and got up on his own, backing up a few steps in the process. He needed to watch who he was close to and avoid touching people. Easy, right?

"Well, if you're alright... Why did you stop?" Shikamaru asked, studying him to find something wrong.

Naruto took a deep breath, then remembered his idea and grinned again. Sitting down on the ground, he quickly took his shoes off. He only wore them because Sasuke insisted on them anyway, but Naruto much preferred feeling the ground underneath his feet. He threw the shoes off to the side somewhere, not intending to take them with him.

Bare feet opened up a whole new world for him. New details found their way to him more easily, making his grin again. This felt so much better, easier, and he had a clear sense of where to go now. He grinned again. He had his prey targeted and he couldn't wait to find them.


	35. A Miscalculation

The cool air within the cave settled the weird hotness Naruto had been feeling. Focussing on the hunt, on a possible kill, made it more bearable and made Naruto feel more like himself.

There were clear indications around the cave's entrance that they were in the right place. For some reason, Hidan and Kazuku had left their garbage and belongings in plain sight, scattered along the cave as they went inside, but they themselves were deep within the cave. There was even lighting in the form of extinguished torches along the cave wall, all on the right side.

The group left the torches unlit, not wanting to draw unwanted attention to them should Hidan or Kazuku move around. Naruto had the least trouble navigating in the dark, feeling as free as he did underneath the rays of the sun. It was a little darker than the department because the torches weren't lit, but his eyes adjusted easily to it.

Naruto led the group through twists and turns complicated enough to worry even Shikamaru when it came to finding their way out again, but non of them dared break the silence to voice their worries.

After another five minutes of walking in almost complete darkness, there was light some distance away. The warm yellow glow seemed almost inviting if it wasn't for the smell that went along with it. It was a smell of death. Decay over a long period of time. Bugs were skittering across the ground, crunching underneath their feet from time to time. Every time the crunch echoed away from them, the group winced, hoping the echo didn't reach their targets.

Before they reached their destination Naruto suddenly came to a halt. Another idea popped into his mind. He turned around with an evil looking grin, the red gleam of his eye burning in the darkness. "Sorry." He whispered and then disappeared from sight, leaving the others standing in darkness without knowing which way to turn or where Naruto had disappeared to. Even the light that had shone so close by just moments ago dimmed and died out, leaving the group without any point of orientation.

Naruto made the rest of the trip alone, leaving the rest of the team under a weak Genjutsu to disorientate them. He felt compelled to at least try to end this hunt alone. His urge to comply to his feelings was too strong and he didn't want anyone else involved. Something was going to happen. Something severe, and the last thing he wanted was for his team mates to witness his inevitable meltdown. Besides that and more importantly, this was _his_ hunt. It was going to be _his_ kill. He didn't want to share any of that. He couldn't.

Licking his lips greedily, he crouched so low it looked like he was walking on all fours, low near the ground. The smell just intensified with each step he got closer, almost strong enough to overwhelm his sense of smell, but he picked up the scent of his targets easily out between the other scents. He could hear them now too, sneering at each other and shifting footsteps. He could feel the restlessness of their wait in the air, settling in him as well and leaving him quivering with excitement.

There weren't a lot of hiding spots in the cave. It opened up quite extensively, but it was big and open, no cover. The glow was just from a single torch mounted on the far end of the wall, casting shadows towards Naruto and providing him with the only type of cover he could get. Magnified by the distance the shadows showed a dance in the flickering light against the wall, masking Naruto's movement by blending in to the natural movement of the shadows.

Hidan and Kazuku stood arguing in the back of the cave, facing each other. Despite the cave's structure, their voices didn't echo far. Even at the other side of the room Naruto had trouble making out the words, but it didn't matter. They were prey. He was so near...

The source of the smell of death and decay was obvious now, multiple dismembered bodies littered the ground, forming a pile of rot and gore. The bodies were festering with Carrion beetles and flies, making Naruro wonder how the hell his prey was able to stand being enclosed with it, let alone live here for several weeks.

Naruto noticed red circles with triangles in them drawn on the ground, dried blood, and avoided stepping in them.

Using the shadows on the wall to cover his own, he worked his way ever closer. His heart was pounding in his throat at the idea of him succeeding and pounded faster at the idea of failing, getting caught and having to fight for his life, but as long as he wasn't spotted, as long as he maintained the element of surprise, he would have the upper hand. The adrenaline only drove him to go further, to get closer and await the perfect moment to strike.

"We've been here too fucking long! Even the damned locals avoid the roads because people keep disappearing. There is no fucking way we can stay here much longer without being found!" Hidan hissed in a low voice. Naruro smirked, they had no idea how right Hidan was.

"It is not my fault people disappeared. That was your doing. I told you it would get too much attention, but no, your ridiculously useless rituals needed to be done." Kazuku said. Compared to Hidan, Kazuku sounded controlled and even.

"You know why!" Hidan growled out.

"Yes, how could I not? You never shut up about your precious Yashin. All I asked was that you kept a few hearts intact, but you insist on destroying them with your worthless rituals." Kazuzku threw back.

"There is more to life than just fucking money, Kazuku! Something worthwhile can give more than just money!" Hidan retorted. Naruto grinned as he stood hidden in the shadows listening to the fight and enjoying the fact he had gotten so close. His prey was distracted and open, leaving him free to slowly creep up on them.

He was close enough now. Close enough to pierce either of their hearts before the other would even notice. The problem was, he now needed to make a decision. Take down one will mean fight the other, so which one felt like the least threatening? Hidan, probably, so he was going to go for Kazuku first.

Silently, he drew his Katana. He still wasn't very practiced with it, but a stab didn't require a monumental amount of skill.

The move was swift and hit its target perfectly, stabbing Kazuku from the back, straight through the heart. Naruto stood smirking behind him and pulled back the Katana, waiting for Kazuku to drop dead. His smirk fell fast when Kazuku didn't. Instead, Kazuku turned around in anger and immediately launched an attack at Naruto. "What the Hell!" Naruto yelled. "Why aren't you dead? Or bleeding?" Naruto was almost angry. What kind of monster didn't bleed? Or die when stabbed through the heart?

"Konoha nin? What are you doing here?" Kazuku asked, as he turned around while taking a swing at Naruto. Naruto easily avoided the swing, jumping back a few meters. He sneered at Kazuku. "What's the use if you don't bleed? This is no fun!" He pouted. He was actually feeling disappointed and just wanted to sulk. Maybe he should have gone for Hidan?

"Finally, someone who fucking understands!" Hidan yelled back with the same type of disgruntlement.

Naruto didn't get the time to think too much about it as Kazuku attacked him right away, quickly followed by a scythe attack from Hidan. It didn't take much for Hidan to take the lead in the fight, leaving Kazuku some time to recover from his pierced heart.

Hidan's attacks were fast and made unpredictable by the use of the extending chain of his scythe. For a few moments, Naruto was just avoiding getting hit, and avoiding ending up in the pile of rotting corpses as he did so. It was a little hard to see openings in Hidan's attacks, but Naruto still managed to retaliate on some occasions, blocking the scythe with his Katana.

It didn't take long for Kazuku to also jump into the frey, attacking in the openings left by Hidan and effectively running Naruto down quickly. Both were yet to leave an injury, but at the rate the fight was going, Naruto was going to be in trouble.

At the same time, he hadn't been this exhilarated in a long time. He was actually fighting seriously and he was having trouble with it! But even he had to admit he underestimated his chances, too swept up in his need to hunt, following his instincts, and now he was hunted instead of hunter...

Naruto did notice something very interesting about his opponents, though. Kazuku had a new heart beating in his chest and Hidan was getting visibly more and more angry and frustrated with each hit that didn't manage to draw blood. It were tell-tale signs for weaknesses, but knowing the weaknesses wasn't enough to act on them. Ahh, even Naruto himself realised his had been stupid with this all...

He was still the first to draw actual blood. A quick twist and turn to stay out of Kazuku's reach resulted in landing in a perfect position to land a blow with his Katana on Hidan, and Naruto didn't miss his chance. His cut started at Hidan's right hip, slashing it upwards all the way to his left shoulder, leaving a cut deep enough to disembowel a regular person. Instead of screaming out and crumbling to the floor, Hidan just started laughing loudly and maniacally. It seemed like he savoured the pain, ending in an evil grin that could rival Naruto's from time to time.

Kazuku, noticing his partner's increasing deranged state, opted for a tactical retreat and slunk back to the very back of the cave. To keep out of the way of Hidan and not endanger himself in the process. He knew Hidan had a tendency to forget his allies, just as much as he himself did when he went berserk. Granted, Hidan didn't get out of his way and Hidan's immortality has prevented Kazuku from killing him on several occasions, but that didn't mean Kazuku wanted to get caught between Hidan and his target.

Hidan started lashing out at almost twice the speed as before, pushing Naruto once again into just dodging and reflecting blows, hoping for small openings to retaliate.

In the end, fatigue settled in and Naruto's reaction were becoming slower, while Hidan seemed unbothered by the gaping wound and the dragging of the battle. The scythe nicked Naruto's neck. A shallow cut, but enough to bleed a little. "Yes! Yashin will get His sacrifice! I will start my ritual and I will end you!" Hidan cried out, his eyes bulging, a smirk on his lips and a greedy look in his eyes.

Hidan started drawing one of those circles that were littering the cave ground with blood. He kept smirking as he licked Naruto's blood off the scythe. His skin turned black with white skeleton-like markings and he kept holding eye contact with Naruto. Just before Hidan finished his drawing, Naruto smirked at him as well, matching the madness in Hidan's eyes with his own. Eye contact with a Genjutsu user is not the most advisable thing to do...

Hidan froze in his place. His mind was overtaken with his biggest fears. He saw himself dying, in so many ways in such a short time and each death felt terrifyingly real, but the real terror didn't come from the visions in which he died. It came in those in which he lived. Quartered and buried in seperate places, left to starve for an eternity in an empty cell, pierced through all his joints, leaving him immobilised. The images flashed so fast he barely had the time to digest it all, but they all came down to the same. Restriction, starvation, isolation in various degrees of severity and in each case he was made to endure the endlessly slow torture for the rest of his hopelessly eternal life, unrelenting and unending.

Naruto took a few steps back to breath. The chase had worn him out to some degree. Luckily he still healed really fast and the shallow cut in his neck was already disappearing. With Hidan occupied for at least a short while, he turned his attention towards Kazuku.


	36. Crushing Hearts

Kazuku glared at him, surprised to see his partner suddenly frozen just before his finishing move. Not only that, but there was actual terror written on Hidan's face and nothing really had seemed to happen before Hidan froze. There were only a few explanations for it, one of which stood out above the others as he had witnessed a similar thing in his travels with Uchiha Itachi. "A Genjutsu user, huh?" He said. Naruto shrugged and grinned. Kazuku was smart, he recognised. Smarter than Hidan at least, because unlike Hidan, Kazuku had taken his time to study his opponent.

Now that Hidan was out of the fight, Kazuku approached the fight with the same caution as before, still being unsure of what to make of the blond that was suddenly upon them. After all, all he had seen was Kenjutsu of notable skill, the boy had pierced one of his hearts after all, and Genjutsu, though the boy seemed to have a knack for avoiding attacks as well so there was a lot of physical prowess as well.

Kazuku kept his distance, still cautious about his opponent. The way Naruto stood before him, with the grin and the fiercely gleaming eyes, made Kazuku think there was more to him than he thought at first. But that didn't mean Kazuku was going to back down. In fact, this would make quite an interesting fight, he thought.

Kazuku was the first to move. He launched his fist at Naruto, barely missing his head and hitting the cave wall behind Naruto. The whole cave shook and small bits of sand and rubble rained down on both of them. Kazuku retracted his fist just as fast as he shot. He continued on, testing his opponent with each move. Naruto seemed to have no answer to the distance except to dodge with a natural and almost animalistic grace. It took Kazuku a few moments to realise that Naruto was not just dodging, he was also edging closer to Kazuku, and Kazuku had backed up in an unconscious effort to maintain the distance. Given the room the cave offered, this meant Kazuki had little to no room left behind him to avoid whatever the blond would throw at him.

Kazuku wasn't disappointed when the blond smirked, twirling his Katana in his hand and suddenly rushing at him with a surprising amount of speed. Naruto lashed at Kazuku, aiming for Kazuku's heart, but the way he did it looked slightly clumsy, leading Kazuku to believe Naruto's Kenjutsu wasn't as practiced as it could have been.

Kazuku caught Naruto's strike with his bare hand stopping the momentum easily. The slight cut he gained from it quickly stitched itself closed as soon as he let go of the Katana.

Naruto pouted, disappointed that his strike didn't leave any lasting damage. He launched the same attack again, and it resulted in pretty much the same. Naruto did it again and again and each time the outcome was pretty much the same. Kazuku caught or blocked his blade, gaining a cut that immediately healed after the Katana was pulled back.

It seemed that any effort not focussed on Kazuku's weak spots didn't really have any lasting effect, so Naruto changed tactics. Now that his target area had become significantly smaller, he didn't feel like just his Katana was going to save him. Using a big Jutsu was also out of the equation, as he didn't want it to cave in on him and as Kazuku demonstrated with his fists, that was a very likely possibility. Luckily for Naruto, he had a pretty valid option to restrain someone, as long as he could get within adequate range of that person. He smirked again, satisfied with his own plan and even though he wasn't going to draw any blood from Kazuku, he still planned on getting his kill.

He went in for another strike, exactly the same way as he had done before, and Kazuki prepared to block just like before, but just before the Katana struck Naruto focussed his chakra to form two chakra chains, pinning Kazuku in a ruthless grip strong enough to crush bone of any lesser man. With Kazuku restrained, Naruto let his blade slip between the ribs of the man, piercing the organ in its cage and wounding it beyond repair.

Naruto smirked. That was twice. Twice he had killed Kazuku and for a second time Naruto was witness to the inevitable recovery Kazuku seemed to possess. As soon as Naruto pulled back his sword and relented his chains, Kazuku's body automatically forced itself to heal once again. But Naruto didn't mind. He was actually enjoying this game and for a moment wondered how often a person could die while still being able to call themselves sane afterwards. Or even the same person? Did Kazuku still have his original heart?

Would that one _bleed_?

Kazuku didn't give him the time to think on it too long. As soon as the heart settled into its place, Kazuku was on him full force again, changing his tactic by expelling one of his remaining hearts and puppeting it into fighting alongside him. With this, Naruto had barely any space to maneuver and avoid, resulting in a few good hits on his body.

It took a short while to get used to the more erratic attack pattern, but Naruto picked up on it fast. The heart was slower than the main body, and more limited in what it could do, making it the more obvious choice to attack. Which was why Naruto kept his focus on Kazuku.

Naruto used two chakra chains again in an effort to catch both Kazuku and his heart-doll, seemingly giving the doll an equal portion of his attention.

When Kazuku dropped his guard for an instant thinking Naruto was focussed on the doll, Naruto made two more chakra chains and pinned both Kazuku and his doll down. He pulled the doll towards him, cutting the heart and watching the doll go limp. He quickly turned back to Kazuku and went in to do the same to him.

Just when he was about to cut through Kazuku, something snapped inside him. He heard and felt it at the same time as it shot though his very being. His mind went completely haywire and filled with incoherent flashes of fragmented information and excruciating pain. The pain was so intense he was sure he was screaming at the top of his lungs, but he didn't hear it, just muffled and meaningless sounds.

He grabbed his head, fingers twisting into his hair as his whole body shook in the all-consuming sensation of crushing pain in his head. He gasped for breath he couldn't catch and even his sight became a mess of fragmented shards, incoherent and senseless.

What little air he had was knocked out of him as something hard and heavy smacked into his side and with that, he lost any recognition of where he was. Whatever it was that hit his side lingered against him, pressing against him like it was trying to get him to move. He kicked his legs, trying to find the ground, any kind of grip, but only hit air. In that moment, it didn't matter. The pain in his head was too much to focus on anything else. He still grasped at his head and writhed without knowing where the rest of his body was. The vertigo was destroying whatever sense he had been still able to make of the world around.

Small snippets of coherent information made it into his mind, but it was too hard to focus on those small details. Right now, his world was just pain and disorientation.

The distorted sounds of footsteps approached him, followed by a voice that didn't make any sense at all. A new pain settled in his ribs as he was kicked hard, leaving him even more winded than he already was. The kick made him realise the hard and heavy thing pushing against him was the ground as he tumbled across it from the force of the kick.

Everything went black for a moment before coming back in full force, sending a new and even more intense wave of pain through his system. He felt his control slipping as he snarled in pain, pulling his body into itself so he was in a fetal position. This was bad, he realised. Hidan's Genjutsu probably ended the moment he lost control, meaning he was now in a room with two deadly Shinobi who had a very good reason to kill him and he had no chance of defending himself. His mind screamed danger, but he wasn't able to act on it at all.

Somewhere in the distance, he heard something else as well, but he couldn't make out what. It sounded dearly familiar, whatever it was and his muddled mind was overcome by a need to get closer to the source of it. Unfortunately, his body was in no state to move at all.

A sharp pain pierced his abdomen, which shattered him completely. With every nerve already on fire, the pain was too much. He felt his body go numb and he lay just lay there, an occasional tremor running through him.

For some reason, he was left alone after that. Neither Hidan nor Kazuki touched him again and left him to shake in exhaustion and pain. Naruto couldn't tell how much time past, but he knew things were happening around him. He registered an occasion shout, metal clashing and aggressive growls. He sometimes saw a shadow dance in front of him, but those were quickly gone again.

After a while, everything quieted down, including his mind. It was almost eerily quiet now. Slowly blinking, he realised he was able to make sense of what he saw again. Someone was standing in front of him , their back turned towards them. With effort, Naruto managed to look up and saw it was Sasuke standing in front of him defensively. Shikamaru was a little to the side and Asuma and Choji were fighting with Kazuku. Hidan was down, though Naruto knew he wasn't dead.

"Sasuke..." Naruto said, his voice more shot than he expected. Sasuke snapped around, looking down on him. The blazing Sharingan burned down on him, raking over him in search of signs of distress, but seemed not to find anything new to worry him. "Stay down." Sasuke said, almost growled, was more like it. Naruto relaxed, turning halfway unto his back and watched the fight continue.

Shikamaru was focussed completely on Hidan and when Naruto focussed on them, he saw the black shadows intertwine Hidan's body, keeping him firmly in place.

Naruto shifted his gaze to Kazuku and noticed all the masks on his back were gone. Asuma was flanking Kazuku with chakra coated Kunai and Choji kept attacking from the front, using his Body Expansion Justu to land heavy blows, forcing Kazuku to block Choji which created openings for Asuma. All in all, the teamwork looked quite well-polished between them.

It didn't take long for Asuma and Choji to take out the final heart as well, but the combination of the Choji's powerful attack and the cave wall were enough to shake the earth, and make it come down on them.

"Get out, now!" Shikamaru yelled, still focussed on keeping Hidan in place. Sasuke swooped Naruto up, and Naruto clung to him when his wound shot a new pang of pain through him. Naruto looked over Sasuke's back to see Asuma and Choji retreat as well, but Shikamaru was still focussed on keeping Hidan in place. At the last moment, he released his shadows and ran after them. Hidan wasn't able to move as fast as Shizuka could. He tried to escape as well, but the rocks came down on him, crushing him into an eternal darkness underneath a mountain.

Outside the cave, they stood breathing hard for a while. Sasuke was the first to catch his breath a little again. "Are you alright?' He asked between gasps. Naruto nodded against his shoulder. "Good." Sasuke said, then proceeded to drop Naruto on the ground. "What the hell were you thinking?" He yelled at Naruto, staring him down angrily.

Naruto cringed in pain when he landed, pressing his hand on the wound in his belly. He looked up at him a little confused and lost for words.

"Why the hell did you leave us? You could have died! You _would_ have died if we were any later!" Sasuke was furious and crossed his arms as he waited for Naruto's answer.

"Uhm... I was..." Naruto stuttered. He didn't know how to explain what was going through his mind when he left his team behind. It was selfish, but it still felt like it had been something unavoidable. "I needed to?" He said uncertainly.

"Oh my Kami, Naruto. Is that really all you have to say? You endangered yourself and everyone else on this mission!" Sasuke said exasperated. Naruto looked down, feeling guilty.

He sighed and looked back up at Sasuke. "I'm sorry! I just... I felt like I needed to. I couldn't stop myself..."

The look on Sasuke's face changed fast. Not to pity, or more mellow, but to surprise and shock. He dropped to his knees in front of Naruto and held Naruto's face in his hands. "Naruto... your eyes..." He said looking utterly amazed. "How..."


	37. Guilty conscience

Sasuke was still angry with him. Naruto didn't like that. It made him restless to know Sasuke didn't like what he had done, but it had been such a strong feeling at the time, he didn't know how he could have acted differently. It was overwhelming. But as overwhelming as it had been, right now he didn't feel anything like that anymore. Something had been soothed in his mind. He felt... more tame at the moment.

Sasuke and Shikamaru seemed to think something was still wrong with him, but Naruto didn't think so. Something happened, but that didn't mean it was wrong. It was more like a solution to something rather than a new problem. He had told them that, but they both kept glancing at him as they travelled back to Konoha.

Naruto did understand, though, that what he did had been dangerous. Not just for himself, but also for the others who were there. He had been selfish in a way, he knew.

Sighing, he looked at Sasuke, who was running in front of him. He felt his heart give a weird thud at the sight of the broad shoulders and flexing muscles as they travelled. His stomach felt tight. He even felt his eyes tear up as the guilt grew a little stronger.

At the same time, he felt eyes on the back of his head. Shikamaru was running behind him and he hadn't taken his eyes off Naruto. There was a layer of distrust between them now, and for some odd reason that was bothering Naruto. He hadn't thought he cared for Shikamaru enough to actually want the Nara to like and trust him. Sure, they were friends, but nothing more than that. Did other people feel the need to remain in the good graces of their friends? Naruto expected to feel that way just towards his chosen mate. His eyes fixated back on Sasuke and didn't leave him again as he was immersed in his own thoughts.

It was tiring to feel judged like that... again... He felt like he did the same thing Sakura had done... Without the outright attempted murder, but still... Argh, this was too hard to think about and he was tired. The mission was a success, nobody died, and he was feeling a lot better than before this all. If anything, Naruto was happy with how it all went down. After all, his need to search for blood was gone, back to slumbering in the back of his mind where it could do no damage to anyone. Except his sanity... Sanity was overrated anyway. He never had a need for it. It had been in the way most of his life, anyway.

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped and turned around just in time to see Naruto crashing into him. Naruto had enough momentum to knock Sasuke off his feet and tumble to the ground with him. They ended up entangled with each other, both grunting in pain. "Teme, why did you stop so suddenly!?" He almost yelled, giving Sasuke a pouty glare as he pushed himself up a bit. Sasuke was flat on his back and leaned up on his elbows to glare back.

"Shikamaru called for us to take a break. You must have missed that." Sasuke sounded cold towards him. There was a small red flicker in his eyes, like an unspoken affirmation of anger. It hurt, and Naruto frowned when he saw the look pointed at him. He sat back further so Sasuke had enough space to get up and wrapped his hands around his knees, trying to think of something to say or do to make up with Sasuke. Naruto didn't like this at all... But he also failed to think of anything to say. For the whole break, Naruto didn't move, feeling miserable.

Sasuke stared at the blond. The sad look on his face was pulling on his heart strings and hard at that. Sasuke had such weak resistance against Naruto, but what Naruto did had been dangerous and irresponsible, impulsive and unexpected. Sasuke wasn't going to let the blond get off easily, but Shikamaru and he had already decided not to report the incident as an incident, but rather as an unexpected technical error that they had needed to work out. After all, they technically didn't have any proof that Naruto put them in a Genjustu other than that he looked back and smiled... Yeah, not very compelling evidence... And neither Shikamaru or Sasuke wanted Naruto locked back up again.

Sasuke went even further in this, keeping the fact Naruto woke up covered in blood a secret from Shikamaru as well. It was probably nothing, right..? And Naruto wasn't feeling well. He had told Sasuke as much. It was probably just a fluke, nothing to worry about.

What was still very worrying were Naruto's eyes. Sasuke had seen every iteration he thought possible, confirmed by Naruto, who had explained the five parts of his mind some time back. But now both eyes were completely and utterly different. The only thing that remained the same was the fact that they were still slitted, like a cat. Or a fox. The rest of his eyes, iris and sclera, were now a mix of red, blue and purple. Small white dots appeared and disappeared as the colours moved around each other. It was like a mist of small stars covered his eyes, getting lighter towards the corner of his eyes. Like a galaxy, up to and including the slight swirl, but against a white background instead of black. The harsh black slits down the middle made it seem as though part of the galaxy was being swallowed by a deep blackness. That didn't make his eyes any less beautiful, but it did feel a bit disturbing. Now that his eyes were coated in a layer of unshed tears, it just seemed to amplify the idea of endless space and the unimaginable depths of it.

Sasuke turned his back to Naruto, afraid to lose his resolve to stay mad at the blond for at least the rest of the way back. He sighed. He couldn't handle Naruto being upset, but he felt like Naruto needed to feel that what he pulled was wrong and this was the most effective way to do that.

What Sasuke didn't see was the utter hurt that bloomed in Naruto's eyes the moment he turned his back. Or the actual tear escaping Naruto before he covered it up with a quick swipe and a glare at Sasuke.

Shikamaru sighed at the interaction, giving Choji a meaningful look, conveying the blond was troublesome and he wasn't going to do anything with it. Not his troubles. Choji nodded and went with it, keeping himself out of it as well.

They didn't return to the small town like the original plan had been. Instead, they started their travels back right away. It had been Sasuke's idea, arguing that sleeping under the stars and standing guard was more efficient than spending one night in luxury extra and then start the travels home, and the benefit of traveling back right away was being home earlier, which was always a good thing. And non of them were seriously injured or worn out. Not even Naruto, who had healed very quickly and was already injury-free again. Shikamaru had wanted a lazy night before heading back, but didn't have any good arguments besides being lazy, so he agreed and they went back quickly.

After a few more hours of travelling, they stopped for the night. Significant awkwardness ensued when Sasuke and Naruto realised they were still sharing a tent and, despite Sasuke already feeling guilty for making his blond feel bad, Sasuke still had no intentions of making amends. After standing in front of the tent for an awkward moment glaring at each other, Naruto was the first to move. "Fine." He snapped, and turned around, jumping into a tree and settling down rather quickly and naturally against the trunk. To the group it seemed like he was asleep within a second, something they didn't second guess since, when all was said and done, Naruto had still been the one to spent the most energy and been the most injured during the mission. It wasn't all that surprising he'd be tired enough to fall asleep so quickly.

"Hn." Sasuke entered the tent right after he made sure Naruto was alright where he was. There was a quick rustle of sheets inside the tent before it went quiet again.

"Well, I'm turning in as well." Asuma said, disappearing into his tent as well.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome. I guess that leaves us to determine who gets first watch, Choji." Shikamaru turned to Choji, but only just caught a glimpse of him zipping up their tent as well... "Okay, then. First watch it is. Troublesome idiots." He muttered, picking out a tree that provided enough cover to go a little unnoticed, but at the same time provided a wide view of the area.

The night started quiet, leaving Shikamaru to mull over the happenings during the mission. Since the start Naruto had seemed off, but now he was different. It was more like a feeling than an actual observation in Naruto's behaviour, but that didn't make it any less obvious. He decided to wake Naruto for the second watch and make up with him then. Maybe being on friendly terms again would provide more insights in this development.

He went to the tree Naruto settled in, only to find it empty. How did he not notice? They weren't that far apart. He hadn't heard any zippers either, so Naruto didn't decide to get into the tent anyway. Looking around, Shikamaru saw footsteps in the mud underneath the tree, leading into the darkness of the woods. He sighed and decided to wait for a few minutes, since it could just be a case of nature calling, but he felt a little uneasy. Not alarmingly so, just enough to feel a little guilty about their treatment of the troublesome blond. A groggy Naruto stumbling into the woods for a toilet break was sure to have made some sound and he hadn't heard anything at all.

After the few minutes passed and Naruto still wasn't back, Shikamaru went to wake up Sasuke. "Your loverboy up and left. He's probably sulking somewhere. Go and find him and while you're at it, make up with him. I think he gets it by now." Sasuke was up and out of the tent before Shikamaru had finished talking, almost knocking the Nara over. "Troublesome." He mumbled after Sasuke, and re-took his position to keep watch over the camp.

Sasuke rushed into the woods and followed the obvious footsteps. He was relieved the footsteps were this obvious. If Naruto had wanted to run away, Sasuke was sure he would do so without leaving a trace. Turned out, Naruto wasn't that far away from the camp, only a few minutes, near a river. He sat on a rock and was gazing at the water. Even from a distance Sasuke could make out the movement of Naruto's head, shaking it like he was answering to someone. He was staring at the water with a distant look in his eyes. Curiosity caught up with Sasuke and instead of outright approaching, he suppressed his chakra and snuck closer.

Naruto wasn't saying anything out loud, but it was clear something was going on in his mind. His expressions, nods and shaking of his head indicating he was in a conversation of some sort with himself. It was a quick succession of tears, followed by anger, shaking his head, then nodding, looking frustrated, then scared and confused, back to anger and finally a deep blush. And that was the expression Naruto stayed on. Sasuke guessed he just witnessed some of the normal turmoil of Naruto's mind without Naruto's constant control and filter over it. It looked a little weird, but Sasuke didn't dislike it.

Deciding it was unfair to keep spying, Sasuke let his chakra go. "Naruto." He said, his voice still laced with a little anger. Naruto looked back at Sasuke and grinned. That damned grin Sasuke was yet to become immune to. "Mind if I sit with you?" Sasuke asked, taking a step forward. Naruto nodded, losing the grin but settling on a content smile.

Sasuke sat down next to him, leaving almost no space between them. "You're still angry with me." It wasn't a question. Just an observation.

Sasuke sighed. "Not really. It's just... I guess I'm disappointed that you didn't trust me enough to let me help you. I would do anything for you, you know. Even something as small as just listening to you."

Naruto looked at him with his big, bright eyes, throwing Sasuke off a bit when he saw the obvious guilt in them. "I'm sorry... I didn't want to worry you..." Naruto said with a small voice.

"But you did! When you act strange like that, of course I'm going to worry! And then, what you did in the cave... that was really, really scary. When I saw you lying on the floor, unmoving, covered in blood and with Kazuku hovering over you... I thought you were dead... I never want to feel like that again, so don't ever do something like that again, you hear me?" Sasuke turned a bit towards Naruto, looking at him seriously. Naruto just nodded, brows furrowed in guilt. He hadn't thought about it like that, like he was worrying the others over him... Now he really felt bad...

It took a short moment until Naruto couldn't handle it anymore and glomped Sasuke. He was crying into Sasuke's neck and holding on tightly. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and held him for a while. Naruto practically crawled on Sasuke's lap, a leg on either side to get comfortable. Sasuke moved his arms so they rested on Naruto's waist now. "I'm sorry..." Narutu mumbled into Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke sighed and sat up a bit better, hugging Naruto back tighter and burying his face in his hair. "It's okay, love. It'll be alright." He let Naruto cling to him for a while, happy to be close to him again, even if it had been just a day.

After a while Naruto sat back, looking Sasuke in the eyes. Despite crying for a bit, his eyes seemed as perfect as before, no trace of just having cried. "Sasu..." He said in a soft voice, a bit cracked from crying. Sasuke felt a blush push to his cheeks at the nickname and the tone of voice it was spoken in. It spoke to the imagination quite strongly. "I love you." Naruto added, catching Sasuke even further off guard. He blinked an swallowed, and kept eye-contact with the blond in his lap.

"I love you too..." He said, and then cleared his throat when he heard his own voice come out a little high-pitched and scratchy. The dazzling smile that broke Naruto's face was enough to forget his little blunder within a second. Naruto smashed his lips against Sasuke's, kissing with all his might and toppling them both, so Sasuke was on his back and Naruto was leaning over him. Hands boldly travelled underneath Naruto's clothing, going further than Sasuke had dared before. The soft content sounds coming from Naruto just encouraged him to go further.

"I said make _up_ with him, not make _out_ with him..." Shikamaru interrupted them... Again... Both of them glared at the boy, standing behind them with his arms folded. He had been worried with how long it took Sasuke to retrieve Naruto. After a moment he held up his hands in defeat. "Fine, fine, I get it. Have fun. But keep it down, you're not _that_ far from the camp..." Shikamaru walked away with a sigh. "Troublesome."

Sasuke deflated as Shikamaru left and looked at Naruto. Naruto happily smiled down on Sasuke and kissed him again, picking right back up as though they hadn't been interrupted at all. Sasuke just went with it and kissed back fiercely.


	38. Blood and Stars

Kissing under the night sky was amazing. Sasuke was still laying on his back, Naruto sat on top of him. Naruto wanted to be closer, have more contact. Just Sasuke's hands roaming underneath his clothing wasn't enough, but at the same time it left his skin tingly and burning. It felt perfect, it just wasn't enough.

Sasuke dug his hands into Naruto's hair, holding him tight and pulling him closer. The tight hold pulled a moan from Naruto's lips, and he felt Sasuke smirk against his lips. His heartbeat was in his throat and his cheeks were burning hot. The feeling he had before, the one he could only settle by clinging to Sasuke, came back full force. He felt needy and would accept anything Sasuke would do to him right now and every touch just amplified that feeling more and more. He thought he was past this, that he had some control over it, but he guessed he was wrong. Right now, though, he didn't care at all. Sasuke was right there and that was all that mattered.

Sasuke broke the kiss and sat up, one arm around Naruto's waist and the other behind him for support. Naruto sat in his lap, a leg on either side of Sasuke's hips. He was looking down at Sasuke with half-lidded unfocused eyes, arching his back and pressing against Sasuke's hand in an attempt to get more contact. "You alright, love?" Sasuke asked, smiling softly at the flustered look Naruto had. Naruto blinked and nodded his head. He closed his eyes, letting his head drop so it was on Sasuke's shoulder. "More..." He purred, followed by an unsteady breath and licking at the soft skin of Sasuke's neck. He was feeling so hot right now and he was loving it.

Sasuke sat up a bit further and slipped Naruto's shirt off, tossing it to the side. Naruto whimpered as the cold night air hit his bare skin, but the slight shiver from the cold was quickly forgotten when Sasuke placed his hands on his side. They felt big and warm on his waist, and a little rough. Sasuke pushed him back, placing him down gently on his back so Sasuke was leaning over his, Naruto's legs propped up by Sasuke's.

Naruto pulled at Sasuke's shirt. It was in the way and it was bothering him. Naruto half had in mind to just tear the shirt off, just to get everything to go faster, but Sasuke forced him to slow down by pinning his hands above his head. Sasuke kissed him again deeply, earning a moan from Naruto, before sitting up a bit and gazing down at Naruto, letting go of Naruto's hands. "I love your eyes. Even like this I get to stare at the stars." He said, looking serious. Naruto couldn't help the giggle that escaped him at that moment, accompanied with a blush. That was completely sweet and cute and he loved it.

Sasuke scowled at Naruto's reaction, also blushing but him from embarrassment, but relaxed again when Naruto mewled when Sasuke's hand landed on Naruto's chest. Naruto tucked at his shirt again and this time, Sasuke complied, taking off his shirt in one motion, flinging it aside carelessly.

For a moment, Sasuke looked down on Naruto, watching him squirm with small motions of hips and his hands running over Sasuke's abdomen. All Sasuke saw was want and need underneath him as Naruto was already undoing their pants. Instead of complying again, Sasuke leaned closer to Naruto and started kissing his neck. Naruto put his arms around Sasuke's neck, tilting his head out of the way and whimpering when he felt Sasuke's tongue slide over his skin.

Sasuke ran his hand over Naruto's side to his hips, stopping at the loosened waistband of Naruto's pants. For a moment he hesitated, still not completely sure he knew what he was doing, but everything he did so far seemed to melt Naruto's mind, so he guessed he was doing it right. With new resolve he slipped his hands into Naruto's underwear, running his hand over Naruto's member.

Naruto sucked in a shuttered breath. The moment Sasuke touched him, a red haze passed through his mind and driven by that urge, he bit down hard on Sasuke's shoulder. His slightly elongated canines sank into the soft flesh with ease and he closed his eyes in elation. It felt so right! He felt Sasuke tense and heard him hiss and immediately loosened his bite, worried Sasuke would be mad at him. He didn't let go, but did take off the pressure and then waited for Sasuke's response. It came in the form of a throaty moan, deep and blissful.

Naruto pulled his teeth out of Sasuke's flesh completely. A gush of blood followed now that the wound was open, enough to coat the inside of Naruto's mouth and dripping on his face and chest. Sasuke leaned up a bit to look Naruto in the eyes again. He was shaken by the sudden action, but would not call it unpleasant. The arm of which Naruto had bit the shoulder off was slightly shaking. Naruto must have bruised the muscle a bit with his bite. He gave Sasuke a bloody grin when he found no anger in Sasuke's eyes, just surprise at his own reaction. "Masochist." He purred up at Sasuke, feeling the blood dripping from Sasuke's shoulders into his bare chest and reveling in the feeling of the blood running over his body.

Sasuke lips pulled into a small smile and he shrugged his shoulders lightly, easily accepting the accusation. "Heamophile." Sasuke said back. Naruto shrugged lightly at that, imitating Sasuke's reaction, then licked his lips and swallowed visibly, obviously showing the motion off to Sasuke.

Sasuke moved his hand again, rubbing over the underside of Naruto's erection. Naruto arched his head back at that, pushing his hips upwards to meet the sensation. Sasuke used that as an opportunity to slip Naruto's pants and underwear off and a slightly awkward pants-related struggle later, Naruto was completely naked. Sasuke let his hands roam over the soft skin of Naruto's inner thighs, watching the blond shiver at the attention.

Sasuke took the rest of his own clothes off and leaned over Naruto to kiss his neck again. He stroked both Naruto and himself with one hand, using the other hand to support himself.

Having Sasuke's bleeding shoulder in front of him so willingly again, Naruto bit down again, the two circular bite wounds half overlapping each other. This time a lot more aware of his own action and Sasuke's reaction to it. He licked and sucked at the blood, savouring the sweetness of it almost as much as the moan Sasuke gave thrilled him.

"Sasuke... stop teasing already!" Naruto whined after a while. His heart rate was high and he was breathing fast, but he still wanted more, to be more connected and he wanted Sasuke to do that to him.

"What do you want me to do?" Sasuke asked. His voice came out hunky and teasing, but he actually needed to know. He was kind of at a loss here. He also hadn't thought his first time with Naruto would be with himself on top...

Naruto took his question differently, though, assuming Sasuke wanted to hear him ask for it, maybe beg for it even. Not that he minded. If it was Sasuke he would do anything. "Put it inside me, please." He moaned out, bucking his hips into Sasuke's hand.

"Uhm..." Sasuke stopped moving, his cheeks turning red as he looked at Naruto for a little more guidance.

For a moment Naruto just stared at him before realisation dawned on him. He grinned at Sasuke. "Don't worry, hun, I'll tell you what to do." He hooked his hand behind Sasuke's head and pulled him closer to whisper in Sasuke's ear, making sure his breath was tickling the sensitive skin. "There is only one hole down there that could fit you..." He grinned again, waiting for the reaction.

"Oh..." Sasuke said, letting the words settle in. "O-oh!" His eyes widened. "Oh God... how is that even possible?!" He said, scrunching his eyebrows. Naruto giggled at Sasuke's reaction. It was so cute and almost innocent. The giggle did not help Sasuke control his deepening blush.

"Don't worry, it will. You'll fit just perfectly... Just use your fingers to stretch first and use something to slick it up." He said, grinding his hips against Sasuke, who moaned at the feeling.

"H-How do you know?" Sasuke asked, seemingly a bit stressed out.

"I... uh... Let's not get into the technicalities of it. Just do it. I promise you'll love it..." Naruto caressed Sasuke's cheek with one hand, using the other to massage Sasuke's tip to egg him on. He was _not_ planning on telling Sasuke he had messed around with Hisato at the department, at least not right now...

Sasuke hesitated for a second, before finding his resolve again. Trusting Naruto's word he sank his middle finger into him, watching Naruto's reaction. The pure bliss passing over Naruto's face and the involuntary movements of hips confirmed Naruto was right and it didn't take long for him to dare add another finger, all the while kissing Naruto and feeling him moan against his lips. Sasuke had never thought the tight feeling around his fingers and kissing could get him this hot and bothered, but this was amazing.

Naruto was mewling and whimpering underneath him, needy and clinging onto him like his life was depending on it. The half-lidded eyes and growing blush were a sight to behold. Sasuke trailed kisses from his mouth to his ears. "So what do we use as slick?" He asked, nuzzling the soft skin there.

"Spit or, you know..." Naruto ran his hand up Sasuke's chest through the trail of glistening blood, coating his hand in copious amounts of it and loving the feeling it left on his skin. He gently squeezed Sasuke's shoulder, earning another hissed moan from him and agitating the wound enough to get the blood to flow freely again.

Naruto rubbed his hand over Sasuke's member as Sasuke once again kissed him. When Naruto released him and dug his hands into Sasuke's hair, Sasuke slowly worked his way in. He did it slowly, watching for Naruto's reaction, because he couldn't imagine it being a pleasant experience for Naruto, but Naruto's reactions told him otherwise. The sweet, soft moans and movement of his hips to meet Sasuke told Sasuke Naruto was loving every bit of it.

He waited a moment when he was all the way in, breathing heavily at the tight hotness around him. "I want to move... can I?" He asked breathlessly. Naruto was breathing as hard as he was, his eyes closed and his forehead pressed against Sasuke's injured shoulder. He nodded and held on to Sasuke's neck in anticipation.

Sasuke moved slow, deliberate, feeling every sensation of his movement and every reaction Naruto gave to it.

Naruto took it all eagerly, moaning and whimpering at every thrust in and out, silently begging for Sasuke to go faster, but also not wanting to rush Sasuke too much. Sasuke did speed up, deep strokes each time and it didn't take long for him to hit that spot deep inside him. Naruto cried out, holding on tighter as Sasuke deliberately replicated that motion again.

The feeling deep inside him caused a shock of realisation to wash over Naruto quickly, followed by short-lived relief before turning into full-blown guilt. He had done this before. The morning he woke up covered in blood. He had sought out some random guy and did this with him in the back of an alleyway. He hadn't killed anyone, and for that he felt relieved, but he let someone do this to him other than Sasuke. It had been bloody and messy, he hadn't even bothered to take his shirt off for it, but still, he did and he didn't even remember. He felt horrible towards Sasuke, like he had betrayed him, but just like when he placed the team in a Genjutsu to hunt by himself, instinct had driven him to search for what Sasuke had yet to give him.

The thought was quickly overwhelmed by the pleasure Sasuke was pushing into his body. Every fiber of his being was loving this so much more that a stranger in an alleyway could ever make him feel. It wasn't even remotely comparable, easing his guilt slightly. He would never do this with someone else ever again.

A passionate kiss pushed the rest of those thoughts out of his mind. He'd deal with that later. Now was not a time to linger on that. This moment was to be enjoyed in every sense of the word. Stray thoughts didn't have a place with that.

Sasuke wrapped his hand around him, moving his hand along with his thrusts, reducing Naruto once again to a whimpering mess. The thrusts and strokes were pushing him to the egde and feeling Sasuke's movements become more erratic, along with deeper grunts and ragged breath, told him Sasuke would not be far behind him.

He came with a scream, followed by sinking his teeth once again into the soft flesh of Sasuke's shoulder, adding a third bite and forming three partially overlapping circles on Sasuke's shoulder. He felt a shock pass through Sasuke at the pain followed by a hard and deep thrust and a grunt as he came too.

For a moment, both of them were just breathing hard, waiting for their minds and bodies to comprehend that it was over. Sasuke grinned at Naruto and kissed the tip of his nose. Naruto smiled back, giggling at the soft kiss and attempted to snuggle against Sasuke. Sasuke chuckled at that, and turned them on their sides, so Naruto could really snuggle against him. "That was... different than I expected. So much better." Sasuke said softly, his voice a little raspy.

Naruto rubbed his face against Sasuke's chest. "It was amazing." He said, sounding tired and just wanting to sleep in Sasuke arms.

"Don't fall asleep, love. We need to clean up before that... and get back to camp, probably." Sasuke whispered, placing small kisses on top of Naruto's head. Naruto nodded, but didn't move. Neither the blood nor the rest were bothering him, but for Sasuke he would wash it away.

Sasuke moved back a bit and stroked the hair out of his face, smiling softly. Naruto looked up at him through his lashes, almost looking a bit shy with how he did that. "You're cute, you know?" Sasuke told him. Naruto blinked at that. He didn't think he'd ever been called cute this genuinely. He blushed and averted his eyes. Sasuke awed at him, wrapping him in a hug again. "I love you."

"I love you too."


	39. Troubled Mind

After washing in the river and going back to camp, they found Shikamaru still awake and still keeping watch. "You two..." He said, pointing at the pair entering the camp. "Are not subtle." He said, yawning and looking quite tired.

"Why didn't you change watch? It's really late already!" Naruto asked, a grin on his face. He was leaning against Sasuke, an arm around Sasuke's waist while Sasuke had his arm around Naruto's shoulder. 

"And have Choji listen to you two? No thanks, that'll be way too troublesome... Go keep watch, I'm going to sleep." Shikamaru answered, rolling his eyes and quickly disappeared into his tent. 

Sasuke kissed Naruto's temple. "You want to sleep? I can keep first watch." He offered. Naruto shook his head.

"I'm not sleeping tonight. Why don't you go and get some sleep? I... need to think something through..." Naruto said seriously. Without his eyes changing from blue to red anymore, it was a little harder for Sasuke to know Naruto's current mood, but the seriousness in Naruto's voice hinted to red. 

"Alright, but wake me up if you need anything." Sasuke said, slowly walking backwards towards their tent, smiling as he did so. Naruto nodded and grinned to reassure him.

It was really quiet after that. It seemed that not even the animals were awake at this time of night. The stars were a little less bright than they could be as well. The light clouds drifting in front of them were enough to take the edge off their brightest light. 

Naruto sat thinking over the events of the past few days. Especially the gut-wrenching event in town that he only just remembered. Tears were burning in his eyes at that. How could he have done that? More importantly, what else had he done without remembering it? He was sure his instinct-driven actions were only something recent, something that had been nagging at him only after meeting Sasuke again and accepting him as his mate. Maybe his mind was too messed up to properly process Kurama's urges together with Naruto's feelings. Maybe he needed Inoichi-san to help him more with this. 

He didn't think he had done anything like that before. At least, he never woke up somewhere else like that, not knowing how he got there, so maybe it was just that one time? Maybe now that Sasuke and he had done that, his mind would be more in control? No, wait, he needed to be in control of his mind, right? Was there even a difference for him? 

But then there was the incident with Shikamaru. He had bumped into Naruto, and Naruto had felt like his mind had been completely overwhelmed. He had growled at Shikamaru, another unconscious action, but in reality, he had felt completely and utterly incapable of getting Shikamaru off of him. Had Shikamaru, or anyone else for that matter, at that moment had other intentions, Naruto would not have struggled against it despite never, ever wanting that to happen with anyone else beside Sasuke. 

This was frustratingly difficult. Was his instinct really so strong it was able to overthrow his cognitive will that easily? Yeah, Yamanaka-san wasn't going to be able to help him with this, he realised. The poor man could barely make sense of Naruto's shattered mind as it was, let alone adding something like a haywire basic instinct to the mix...

What he did notice now, even stronger than after just leaving the cave, was that his mind had a sense of peace in it, like his instinct had been fulfilled for the time being. Maybe Sasuke would be enough to keep him under control. He would need to tell Sasuke, though, and that was going to have to wait until they were safely back in Konoha.

It was enough to keep Naruto up all night, only breaking out of his troublesome thoughts when Choji emerged from his tent. Choji greeted him with a grin, one that Naruto answered in kind and the both of them made breakfast together, starting a day of travelling with a good meal for them all. 

Naruto was nervous. The whole journey home was different than the first part of their journey, mainly because Sasuke was no longer angry with him, but also because of Naruto's intent to tell Sasuke what was going on in his mind and about what he had done. Every time he thought back at what he had done in the village, his gut clenched. Damnit, he fucked up! Sasuke was going to be so angry with him...

He was unable to stand still during the report to the Hokage. He was fidgeting so badly even the Hokage noticed. He was looking at Naruto like he wanted to keep him back after dismissing the others, but Naruto expertly ignored eye contact in favour of keeping his eyes on Sasuke. "Naruto." The Hokage said. Naruto finally and a little reluctantly looked at him, a big grin on his face. 

"Yes, Jiji?" He asked in a completely innocent voice.

"Why don't you stay here with Sasuke? The rest of you are free to leave." Sarutobi asked in an equally pleasant voice, returning the grin with an amused smile. He might be old, but he wasn't senile. Of course, he didn't know about Naruto's latest troubles and just saw the figeting as eagerness to be alone with Sasuke again.

"So, how are you enjoying living with Sasuke, Naruto?" He asked. He already knew about their relationship, but never had the chance to talk about it with Naruto himself. Naruto recognised the jovial tone in his voice and decided not to bother Jiji with anything. 

"It' s great! Sasuke is really nice to me. I really like him. I want to keep living with him." He said enthusiastically while flailing his arms around. He suddenly stopped and looked at Jiji with begging eyes. "I can keep living with him, can't I?" He suddenly felt worried over that. There wasn't any reason to be, but what if someone decided he needed to be housed somewhere else again?

"Of course you can. I see no reason why not." Jiji said, watching Naruto's face morph back into a grin. Naruto turned to Sasuke and beamed at him, completely happy. "Why would you ask me that? Did something happen I should know about?" Sarutobi asked.

"Uhm… no, not really…" Naruto answered. Instead of turning around and facing Jiji as he spoke, Naruto installed himself with his arms around Sasuke's neck. Sasuke placed his arm around Naruto's waist.

"Well, I can't say I'm completely satisfied with the report, but since Shikamaru didn't report any incidents, I guess I have to leave it at that. I do have a warning, though. For the both of you. From what I've heard, Naruto has shown signs that he isn't always in full control. These are just rumours as it stands now, but if I should ever see clear evidence of this, I will have to act on that. At the very least it will mean confinement to the village. At the worst, imprisonment. And I do not mean the T&I department." The words were tough, but spoken with care. It was a fair warning, even Naruto thought so. 

"I'm watching him." Sasuke answered. Naruto glanced up at him, noticing that he was almost glaring at Jiji, adding another arm around Naruto's waist. 

"I'm sure you are. Unfortunately, you aren't an impartial party anymore, so if there ever is any sign of trouble, you'll be disregarded as a witness." Jiji said. He sounded a bit weary. Naruto remembered the words Cat had said to him all those years back in the medical bay. That there had been people out to get him, waiting for him to mess up. Chances were high those same people were still after him. He tugged at Sasuke's shirt to get his attention. 

"He'd right, Sasuke. Don't be mad at Jiji. I'll do my best to behave, I promise." He smiled at Sasuke, watching Sasuke's expression mellow out. 

"Alright." Sasuke said to Naruto, smiling at him.

"Good, I'm glad you understand what I'm trying to tell you. Now, go and rest up. A big day awaits tomorrow!" Jiji said smiling. Even his eyes crunched up with the smile. For a moment Sasuke and Narurto stared at him, both clueless as to what the man was referring to. 

"Oh, by the way, shouldn't Kakashi-sama be here too?" Sasuke asked. The masked man had been absent during the meeting, but the desk looked only recently abandoned with pens scattered about and a half full glass of water still on the table, moist with condensation. 

"Ah, yes, he had a… sudden meeting somewhere. It came up the very moment the new load of paperwork was dropped off, oddly enough." The dear old Hokage was still smiling, though now it looked strained and hurting. "I'm sure he'll be right back." He added hopefully. 

"I'm sure he will. Let's go, love, it seems the Hokage has work to do." Sasuke said, turning around and leading Naruto out of the office, leaving a very tired looking old man behind.

They went straight home, only stopping to buy enough groceries for dinner and breakfast. Naruto took a deep breath while he watched Sasuke put the stuff away, leaving out the ingredients for dinner. Naruto hadn't cooked at home once after their little bet, and even though Sasuke had tried to rope him into it as 'something we can do together', Naruto was adamant about just sitting there and watching Sasuke. It was a good view, after all. 

Naruto took a deep breath to prepare himself. "Sasuke, we need to talk." He said. Sasuke had his back to him, so he didn't immediately see the serious expression on Naruto's face.

"Uh oh, that sounds ominous."He said jokingly before turning around. "Wait, you're serious. What's wrong?" Sasuke stopped what he was doing, turning all his focus to Naruto.

"Well… remember I told you I woke up covered in blood and I was afraid I might have hurt or killed someone?" Naruto asked. 

"Yes, what about it?" Sasuke walked over to Naruto. Naruto leaned back in his chair, a guilty look on his face as he looked up to Sasuke.

"I, uh… well, I remembered what I did… and it might be worse than having killed someone." He was avoiding looking directly at Sasuke. He really didn't want to see the hurt look that Sasuke was going to have when he told him. 

"You are worrying me, love. What did you remember?" Sasuke asked in a stern voice. He didn't like that Naruto was dragging this out. It made him worried. What could Naruto have done that he would consider it worse than killing? 

"Okay, so I'm first going to tell you that I wouldn't have done it, and I never will again. I would never betray you. You need to believe me when I say that. I really do love you very much. I still don't remember it clearly and I certainly don't understand why I did it to begin with. I have a decent guess as to why, but that isn't really explainable. Am I making sense? I feel like I'm not making sense. What-" Sasuke interrupted him by holding up his hand. As Naruto had been talking, he had started talking faster and faster, and that left him a little short of breath.

"If you talk any faster than that, I wouldn't even be able to follow you even with the Sharingan active. Breath, love, steady now." He said, cupping Naruto's cheek and kneeling down so he was more at eye level instead of towering over the distressed blond. 

Naruto took a few slow breaths. This was fine. He was fine. He was able to tell Sasuke. It was going fine. He nodded, more to himself than to Sasuke, but Sasuke was happy to see Naruto at least breathing properly again. 

"I'm fine… So, here it is. Please remember that I didn't remember any of this and I still don't really understand why I did it, okay?" He waited for Sasuke to nod before continuing. "I.." He started, taking a deep breath. "Let a guy f-fuck me…" He said in a small voice. He watched Sasuke as Sasuke processed what he had just said. Sasuke was looking straight at him. Naruto flinched when he saw the Sharingan flash for a second before disappearing again, leaving a deep scowl on Sasuke's face.

Sasuke took a few breaths, then turned around and left the kitchen without saying a word. "Sasuke…" Naruto feebly called after him, grabbing after him, but missing the hem of Sasuke's shirt. He felt unsure of what to do now. Sasuke would need time, right? He realised that Sasuke probably wouldn't be able to look at him, maybe ever again, but he didn't want Sasuke to be alone while he was this upset either... 

The door to the bedroom slammed closed, making Naruto flinch again. He closed his eyes and waited for a second. He let out a deep, unsteady breath.

He dug his fingers into his hair, grabbing onto it almost painfully and then let his hands wander to the Hitai-ate around his neck, clenching it and clawing at it in an almost forgotten habit. The poor feeble metal stood little chance against the sharp nails and strong grip, warping under the pressure and remaining dented and bent out of shape. He wasn't going to leave Sasuke alone, and he also wasn't going to pressure Sasuke with his presence. 

He got up and made his way to the bedroom door and sat down in front of it. He made no secret of where he was and even deliberately flashed his chakra to alert Sasuke that he was right there. Naruto hugged his legs and sat there, determined to wait right there until Sasuke was able to talk to him again. 

"I'm sorry..."


	40. Handling Naruto

It was quite early in the morning when Sasuke woke up. At first, he was a little surprised with himself that he had actually managed to fall asleep. His eyes were burning and he probably looked like crap. He never did like how he looked when he was tired and the worst kind of tired was tired because of crying. He could only imagine the absolute mess he was right now.

He knew Naruto was in front of the door. It stung him a little that Naruto was so close, that he didn't leave Sasuke alone for a while, but at the same time, Naruto's persistence was reassuring. Naruto put no effort into hiding his presence and Sasuke could tell he was already, or still, awake and that he was distressed as well. Good. At least he had the decency to be upset.

Sasuke had spent the entire night going back and forth between being angry, hurt, betrayed, and, strangely, also a little understanding. Sasuke found himself not liking that last part. He didn't want to understand. He wanted to just be angry with the blond, furious even. If it had been anyone else, Sasuke would have destroyed them, yet here he was feeling sorry for Naruto. He was the one that got hurt and he was feeling sorry for the one that had hurt him.

Damnit, this was frustrating. This was so hard and he felt like a wreck, and over what? A moment Naruto didn't even remember, maybe didn't even have control over? But that was bad in itself. If Naruto can't control himself then he can't be left to wander on his own. He'd be too dangerous. And Sasuke would be alone again.

And what was bugging him the most? It wasn't even that Naruto had cheated, or the fact that he had told Sasuke. Naruto had told him he had done that and had said beforehand that he didn't remember it at first. He had been honest and Sasuke couldn't help but be grateful for that. Naruto did always say he didn't lie. Sasuke had spent the entirety of last night contemplating what could have triggered Naruto's memory and guess what screaming conclusion he pulled and hurt the most?

Naruto had remembered it during his first time, their first time. That, that was what was hurting the most. The fact that their moment was tainted by Naruto remembering that at that moment. He felt so utterly betrayed because of that.

He needed to hit something. And be alone for a while.

But he wasn't just going to go outside like this. He needed to put himself together. He was going to clean himself up, put on some clean clothing, make sure most traces of his distress would go unseen, and avoid everyone to the best of his abilities. In other words, he was going to be the best put together mess Konoha hopefully wasn't going to see.

He took a deep breath and opened the door. Naruto still sat on the floor and he looked up at him. The moment their eyes met, Sasuke saw the flash of guilt and hurt on Naruto's face. Sasuke bit down on his teeth and swallowed, turned his back to Naruto, and started to walk towards the front door.

"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto called after him, but Sasuke didn't stop. He didn't even look back. Tears were stinging his eyes again, and he hadn't thought just seeing Naruto would mess him up like this again. Yeah, put together...

He heard Naruto stand up and run after him. Naruto grabbed his hand and stopped him from walking on. He tugged his hand lightly to get Sasuke to turn around. The moment their eyes clashed again, they both froze in place. Both had hurt in them, though one was of regret and the other of betrayal and they were both stunned by the others visible hurt. The moment conveyed everything and nothing at the same time. It was a silent beg and a silent plea. The moment lasted only a second, but it was enough for Naruto to let go and drop his hand and for Sasuke to bite down on his teeth again.

"I'm leaving..." Sasuke said and swallowed down the lump in his throat. He meant to add 'I'll be back before nightfall' but he choked on his words. If he had spoken more, his voice would have come out broken and he didn't want to admit he was near tears. Not even to Naruto.

"W-what?" Naruto said. "Why?" Sasuke wasn't letting him close, he was avoiding Naruto. He didn't want Sasuke to leave him. There was no way he was going to be able to handle that. His regret and guilt were all to quickly muddled by panic and dread. He felt his breathing speed up and his mind getting swamped with the repeating thought. _No, not again, don't leave me. I can't..._ His vision blurred when tears filled his eyes. It was hard to process the world right now.

"Just leave me alone..." Again Sasuke choked on his words. He took a moment to collect himself so he could finish his sentence, add 'for today' or something like that to it, but a deep, throaty sound cut him off before he could speak. It was almost inhuman, a growl of some sort, and Sasuke snapped back around to look at Naruto, a little startled.

Naruto was staring at him fiercely. His eyes were wide and filled with tears and his pupils were dilated. More than ever did the pupils look like black holes eating the universe around them. They were dangerous and deep, and so easy to get lost in for Sasuke, but his eyes were framed by a face set in a scowl. "No!" Naruto growled out. "You can't leave me." He said, sounding slightly hysterical. His voice was a little high pitched and uncontrolled.

"Calm down, I'm..." Sasuke started but was interrupted by Naruto suddenly rising to his feet and storming towards him. Naruto had enough speed to bash Sasuke against the wall, hard enough to knock the air out of Sasuke's lungs and leaving his dizzy for a second when his head collided with the wall. Naruto's fists twisted into Sasuke's shirt and he looked up at Sasuke, the tears finding their way down his face.

"You can't... You can't leave me. Please don't... d-do that to me." He begged. Sasuke looked down on him. The push reminded Sasuke of the fact that Naruto was a lot stronger than him, but right now Naruto was looking small, fragile, and panicked. But that didn't change how Sasuke was feeling right now and it didn't change that he wanted to be alone for a while.

Sasuke took a deep breath and grabbed hold of Naruto's hands. "I'm not leaving you. I just need to be alone." Sasuke was surprised he managed to say this as calm as he did, but it didn't seem to soothe any of the panic in Naruto's eyes.

Sasuke pried Naruto's hands off of him. "Listen to me, Naruto, I will be back. I just need some time, alright?" He let go of Naruto's hands and again set out towards the front door. For the sake of himself, he didn't look back at Naruto. He wasn't going to be able to walk away if he saw a deeply upset Naruto, but he truly needed some time. Was it bad of him to need that? To walk away? He didn't think so. It would be worse to keep being frustrated and upset and not work through how he felt.

He didn't make it three steps out the door, however, before something hit him hard in his back, sending his face-first to the ground. He felt knees press against his lower back and hands grabbing onto his shoulder. "You don't leave. You're mine. My mate. You need to stay with me." Naruto muttered, sounding a little unhinged.

Sasuke turned around as well as he could and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, get off of me! What are you doing?" He raised his voice, trying to get Naruto to listen to him, but Naruto seemed unable to focus on anything he said. Naruto just dug his fingers more into his shoulders, enough to make Sasuke wince in pain a little. It was enough to pull Sasuke out of his moment of stupor.

He twisted and struggled to get out of Naruto's hold, but Naruto was determined to keep Sasuke in place. They struggled for a bit, Sasuke failing to get the upper hand at any moment until he managed to get his leg pulled up and kick Naruto off of him.

Sasuke staggered to his feet just in time to see Naruto get up as well. He was looking angry and hurt and was still muttered something. Sasuke was too far away to hear it, but Naruto was definitely talking. His eyes were different. Wild and unfocussed. It reminded Sasuke of the few moments he had seen the 'Kurama-part of him' at the forefront, but this was more wild and unhinged, leaving Sasuke to believe that Naruto was running on instinct once again.

Sasuke didn't get a chance to think about it, though, as Naruto was moving towards him again. The move was aggressive and Sasuke prepared to defend himself, blocking the first hit thrown at him.

"You can't leave me!" Naruto yelled again, twisting around to try and land another hit. Sasuke blocked it again, staggering back.

"I'm not leaving you, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled back, adding Naruto's name on purpose in the hoped that it would help reach Naruto, but Naruto just growled at him. "Do you hear me, Naruto? You need to snap out of it!" For the first time in a very long time, Sasuke was actually kind of grateful that he lived in a pretty much abandoned part of the village. The ruckus they were causing right now was sure to have attracted a lot of attention and a lot of trouble with that.

Naruto shook his head. He was trying to clear his mind, but each time he thought it was clearing a little, the back of his mind pushed back and muddled it all over again. He felt like he was fighting a losing battle against himself, again, and he had no answers now that Sasuke was the one to turn on him. He couldn't handle it. The mere thought was enough to panic him completely to the point his vision was red. His mind was shorting out and he felt like he was spiraling out of control. He needed Sasuke to hold on to. Why was Sasuke not there to hold on to? Why was Sasuke abandoning him? He didn't want to be alone. He can't be alone.

Naruto lashed out again. It was uncontrolled and something was holding him back, so Sasuke was again able to block him, guiding his strike sideways so he strumbled a few steps before regaining his balance. He turned around and went for a kick this time. Since he was behind Sasuke, the kick landed hard and sent Sasuke through a nearby fence.

Sasuke got up, his clothes were a bit torn and he was a few bruises richer, but otherwise unharmed. He needed to find a way to get through to Naruto because there was no way the violently flaring chakra from both of them wasn't going to gain attention soon.

He looked at Naruto again, noticing the slight sway as he stood there and the was he was holding on to his Hitai-ate as a clear sign of distress. His eyes were searching around like he lost sight and was looking for something probably Sasuke. There was pure stress written all over Naruto. Sasuke couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy at the sight and he kind of knew what he had to do after seeing Naruto like that. He swallowed. This was going to hurt. Probably a lot. Ah, well, here's hoping this was going to work.

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Naruto!" He called out and watched as the galaxy eyes searched around before they turned their attention back to Sasuke. "I'm right here. Come on then!" It took a second for Naruto to process Sasuke's words and the fact that Sasuke was taking on a fighting stance and that he had activated his Sharingan. Sasuke... Sasuke was fighting him? Did Sasuke really want to leave him badly enough to fight him for it? His breathing shuttered at the thought.

With a growl, he set off at Sasuke again, aiming to hit hard and often. Sasuke caught his first few hits but winced in pain from the impact, but unlike before, Sasuke took a few tries at hitting back. He didn't actually land a single blow and he wasn't truly trying either. That was not his intent.

Naruto was sloppy, wasn't dominating the fight as he had done in training time and time again. This allowed Sasuke to maneuver a little better to get where he wanted to be.

When Naruto jumped back again, Sasuke took his chance. "Naruto, come on, come here." He said, a lot calmer now, but still in a defensive stance. With another growl, Naruto ran at him, but at the very last second, just before Sasuke should have blocked, Sasuke stood down.

The move surprised Naruto, but he wasn't able to stop himself. His first connected with Sasuke's stomach full force, making Sasuke double over but as he did so, he wrapped his arms around Naruto and holding on to him as he struggled for breath. "Calm down, love, I'm not leaving you. I'm right here." He said as soon as he had his breathing back under control.

Naruto struggled in his arms but did so feebly. He heard Naruto let out a whimper. "I-I can't lose you... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Naruto whispered, grabbing on to Sasuke and seemingly giving up his resistance, crumbling into submission easily now that Sasuke was holding him.

"I've got you," Sasuke said, kissing the side of Naruto's head. Naruto whimpered again and leaned into the hug.

They took a while to both calm down. Sasuke still needed to be alone for a while, but he wasn't going to leave Naruto if it made him this upset. But Sasuke had to accept it. Naruto was utterly unstable and dangerous and probably needed... something. Sasuke had no idea what, though, other than that he seemed to have some sort of power over the blond that had nothing to do with physical strength.

"Can you tell me what happened just now?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice near a whisper.

"I lost it." The short answer was almost enough for Sasuke to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, I figured that part out. I'm asking why." Sasuke said in the same tone, backing up a little so he could look into Naruto's eyes.

"You said you were leaving. You can't leave me. Please don't go away..." Naruto said in a small voice, clinging to Sasuke a little desperately.

"I didn't mean breaking up with you, love. I just need time to think, that's all. And I wanted to do that alone. I'm still going to do that, alone. But I will come back to you. I will always come back to you, you hear me?" Sasuke said, cupping Naruto's cheek and wiping away the stray tear.

Naruto nodded, blinked a few times, and suddenly seemed gripped by a whole new layer of panic. "Oh my God, I hurt you! I attacked you! I'm so sorry. Are you alright? Did I hurt you? Please say you're alright!" He exclaimed, stepping back to be able to look Sasuke over.

"I'm pretty sore, actually, but don't worry, love, just some bruising. But we do need to get better control over this. They won't let you be free if they know you can lose control over yourself this easily." Sasuke managed a smile at Naruto, though it might have been a sad one. "We're going to Hokage-sama tomorrow, together."


	41. Saying Goodbye

Sasuke did leave for a while after making sure Naruto would be okay on his own. Granted, at first Sasuke was worried he'd find his house levelled with the ground once he came back or that Naruto would stalk him for as long as he was gone, but he hadn't seen or noticed Naruto all day. 

Despite thinking he'd be gone for most of the day, Sasuke was back well before dinner and even had time to cook. He had concluded that Naruto didn't cheat and also that Naruto had been honest. It still stung, and Sasuke did need more time, but at the very least he was able to be in the same room as Naruto without feeling near tears. Progress, right? 

The night passed well enough and at the end of it, they slept as they had done since the first night Naruto had stayed at his house, cuddled together. Sasuke scoffed at the idea, but sleeping without the blond glued to his side was now a restless endeavour. 

The next morning Sasuke had some trouble getting Naruto to come with him to the Hokage's office, but he still managed. There were a few things that stuck out about the meeting. Naruto seemed completely and utterly uninterested in the entire proceedings of the conversation, Sarutobi didn't show anything except a fair level of amusement and Kakashi was once again absent, despite Sasuke having announced beforehand that they were coming and for that reason. 

It was strange, even near the end of Sasuke's explanation Sarutobi showed little worry. He only seemed entertained by their fight. It didn't make a lot of sense for Sarutobi to be so easy with this. At the very least Sasuke had expected certain restrictions for his blond boyfriend, but instead, Sarutobi gave them a mission. Outside the village. For multiple months. With a lot of freedom. Not what Sasuke was expecting at all, but he kind of understood the purpose of it. It was supposed to be a somewhat training journey for Naruto and Sasuke. Sarutobi gave them the freedom to go where they pleased, as long as they remembered to be adequate representatives of Konoha and didn't stray into enemy territory without a good reason.

Naruto seemed very pleased with the outcome. On the way back he was zooming around Sasuke, talking about all kinds of random things and sticking to shop windows if they displayed something that would come in handy for their prolonged leave of absence. This wasn't the worst that could have happened. It was unexpected, but not the worst. Sasuke trailed after Naruto, buying the things he also thought necessary and by the time they were home, Sasuke was glad to be rid of the burdens of many bags.

"Didn't you think the Hokage had a weird reaction?" Sasuke asked Naruto while sealing things into scrolls. He looked up just in time to see a smirk vanish from Naruto's face, replaced by a smile and a shake of his head.

"No! And now we get a holiday together. A long holiday..." Naruto said cheerfully. "Where are we going first? I don't really know anywhere outside Konoha, except for the last few missions. I bet there's a lot more to see." He stopped his rambling to gasp. "I wanna see the ocean! Can we do that? Please?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes before looking back at Naruto, a soft smile on his face. "I guess we can make time for that, somewhere along the way." Sasuke said, watching the child-like glee spread across Naruto's face before his ever-restless energy took over again and he started running around the room trying to be helpful. He wasn't, really, but Sasuke just let him run around anyway. It was a good way to ensure a good night's sleep before they were heading off. 

In the blink of an eye, Naruto stalled and because serious. "There will be some other places we will need to stop by. I'll let you know once we're near those locations." Naruto said, and his tone of voice left little question. This was something that they'd do, even if Sasuke didn't want to, so he nodded. 

"Sure. Are you going to tell me where or what it is?" Sasuke asked. Naruto walked up to stand in front of him and started at Sasuke for a moment. Sasuke tensed and swallowed, wanting to take a step back from the sudden seriousness in front of him, but he just managed to stay put. Naruto suddenly gave a mischievous smile and put his arms around Sasuke. "Nope." Was all he said, planting a small kiss on Sasuke's nose and giggling as he hid his face in Sasuke's neck. "Is there time for me to say goodbye to Morino-san? I've been missing him." Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist.

"Of course, we'll stop by the department before we go. There's no really hurry anyway and I need to get someone to maintain this place at least a little bit while we're gone so it isn't a total dump when we get back."

The smile Naruto gave him almost made him forget his lingering uneasiness with Naruto's confession. Sasuke sighed. They'd be okay, eventually, he guessed. They'd have a hell of a lot of time to work on it, anyway, and like always, Sasuke already knew he was swaying towards forgiving. Possibly even forgetting. 

To make it quick, Sasuke and Naruto took to the roofs to get where they needed to be. When stood in front of the dark doors to the department, Naruto seemed a little hesitant to walk in. "Hey, Sasuke..." He said, almost in a whisper. His eyes were glued to the doors, seemingly studying every inch of them before he finally looked sideways. Sasuke looked at him with an expression that told Naruto to tell him what he wanted to say. "Is it okay with you if I go alone?" He asked. There was uncertainty in his voice. Enough so for Sasuke to feel a tug of compassion in his gut as he lowered his arms.

"Why do you want to go alone?" Sasuke asked, wanting an explanation to go with his gut feeling.

"I don't know, because..." Naruto seemed to shrink in on himself a little before he looked back at the doors and took a deep breath to steady himself. "There's a different world behind that door. A different life. I don't want you to see that, I think. I didn't like Ino seeing it either." His eyes didn't move from the door. 

Sasuke stepped closer and touched his cheek softly with the back of his index finger, snapping Naruto's attention to him. Naruto was actually nervous and Sasuke had a hard time not gushing his adoration over the flustered look. "I'll wait by the door, okay?" Sasuke said, giving Naruto a small smile before stepping back and letting Naruto struggle with his thoughts.

The door seemed immense to Naruto. It looked heavier than ever before and it seemed to loom over him more and more with each step he took closer. Naruto didn't really understand his resentment towards the dark doors. It's not like he disliked the place, not really, during his stay. But the doors were a clear symbol of being confined, imprisoned. Trapped. He didn't want to be trapped anymore, but he knew perfectly well that the doors were never the part that kept him from leaving. It wasn't the building, or the shackles or even the Jutsu that did that. It was the people inside. And they'd be there. What if they decided to keep him there again?

His hand landed on the doorknobs and he twisted them without thinking. The doors cracked open to reveal the entry room behind it. It was the same as it had always been. The people behind the desk looked up and one of them smiled at him like an idiot. Naruto let his gaze settle on the man, narrowing his eyes... Definitely an idiot, but at least a familiar idiot. With a grin, Naruto launched himself at Hisato, ending in a fit of giggles.

"Hisato! Where's Papa? I need to tell him something!" Naruto settled himself on Hisato's back, knowing the male didn't mind his actions. 

"You gonna ride me, Naruto? It might take a while to get there." Hisato said calmly, but Naruto felt his chest tense up like he was holding in his laughter. 

Naruto moved his head so his whispers would only be heard by Hisato. "You know I'm the best to have ever ridden you. Giddy up, cowboy." Naruto saw Hisato's ears tinge red and he chuckled. While Hisato often threw innuendo around, being on the receiving end, even if it was just mild teasing, always left him red and Naruto was perfectly willing to embarrass him whenever. 

Hisato rolled his eyes as a way to recover. "Whatever. Let's go." He said as nonchalantly as possible, walking towards the second door. 

For a moment Naruto tensed. Behind that door was the darkness. Did he really want to see Morino enough to go back into that? There was always the off chance they'd decide to keep him there, or that he'd get lost on his way back or something... "Don't worry, no shackles this time and I'll personally guide you back out if Ibiki-san doesn't do that himself." Naruto blinked and looked down at Hisato. "You were thinking out loud." Hisato added with a grin. "In fact, you do that more often then you realise, I'm guessing. I've heard you hold whole conversations with yourself, and those actually seemed to be between different people." He added matter-of-factly.

"I do?" Naruto asked, getting a nod in return. Huh, Naruto guessed he did do that. That did explain why Sasuke sometimes seemed to seamlessly know what was on his mind... Ah, well, he wasn't planning on keeping any of his secrets secret from Sasuke for much longer. He'd have no need to anymore. Secrets were bordering on lies anyway, and he didn't lie.

Hisato strolled through the corridor leading to the least secure part; the opposite end as to where Naruto was kept. There were more torches and the doors had windows in them. There were bars in front of them, but at least the occupants had light in the room and given there was no glass, they'd have the opportunity to talk to close-by cellmates and passing guards. A familiar head of pink hair, ruffled and dirty, popped up behind a window. She smiled when she recognised Hisato. "Hey, Hisato, come to visit me again?" Hisato stopped and sighed. "Not really, no."

A giggle bordering on hysterical echoed out of the cell. "Silly, you always say that, but you always come back. I know what you want. But you can't have me. When I get out, my Sasuke will be waiting for me!" Naruto snorted, barely able to keep himself from laughing. "Ow, it's you." Sakura sneered through the bars. "Did they finally see reason and lock you back up? I knew it. Sasuke must have spoken for me, told them what you did to me. Right, Hisato? I'm going to be released, right?" As soon as she spoke to Hisato, her voice changed from disgusted to the queazy, sickly-sweet look-at-me tone she had always reserved for Sasuke alone. 

Hisato pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "No, Sakura, you know the conditions for getting a new evaluation and you've shown no signs of meeting them. Come on, Naruto, lets go." He said as he started to move further down the hallway, ignoring the rant and string of curses flowing from Sakura's cell. For a second, Naruto stared at the back of Hisato's head before bursting out into uncontrolled laughter. "What?" Hisato asked. Naruto shook his head against Hisato's neck while trying to catch his breath between residue laughs. 

"What?" Hisato repeated when the laughs all but died out. 

"Nah, it's not even funny..." Naruto said, followed by a stray chuckle and a happy sigh. 

"Tell me anyway." 

"You told me to 'come on, let's go', but I'm still on your back." 

"You're right. That isn't funny." Hisato deadpanned, earning a knock on the head from Naruto.

"Fine, maybe it wasn't." He placed his hands on Hisato's shoulders and leaned back as far as he could without falling, letting his head hang to look behind him. "Is Sakura alright?"

"As far as she can be." Morino answered. Naruto wanted to snap up to look in front of him but lost his balance. With the shift in weight, Hisato lost his grip on him and Naruto found himself sitting on a really sore ass, grinning up at Morino, who stood over him crossed arms after making Hisato step aside. He'd stepped out of a room close by, probably alerted by their voices.

"Hi, Papa, miss me?" Naruto smiled up at a stern-looking Morino. Morino still had his arms crossed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"I told you not to call me that." He growled, almost glaring at Naruto. After a few seconds, Naruto's grin changed into a pout, and it didn't take more than a few seconds for Morino to cave in to that. "Fine, come here." He said, lowering his arms, knowing the boy wanted to hug him, if not use him as monkey bars, and frankly, Morino was fine with it. Or used to it, more likely. Naruto did just that, jumping up and using his natural agility to work his way up the tall man until he was situated on Morino's shoulders, revelling in the fact that he was the one to look down on the other now. "So, what brings you here? I honestly thought you'd never want to be in here again." Morino asked.

"I came to say goodbye. Sasuke and I got a looong mission with just the two of us!" He said grinning. Morino looked at Hisato for a moment and then back up. 

"And both Hokage approved of that?" Motion asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Monkey-san said go. Scarecrows-san wasn't there." He avoided eye-contact for a moment. Morino's look darkened a bit at that, recognising the behaviour. 

"Naruto..." Morino said, drawing Naruto back into eye contact. "Is there a secret you're keeping?" He asked.

Naruto giggled and smiled. "Yes!"

"Are you going to tell me?"

Naruto's smile turned into an evil smirk Morino hadn't seen in a long time, sending a shiver down Morino's spine.

"No." Naruto spoke the single word with such conviction and underlying thread and meaning, Morino actually had to swallow hard and take a moment before he could nod in acceptance. The piercing gaze shifted to Hisato, who nodded as well. 

Just like that, the intense moment was gone, replaced with a smile and twinkling eyes. "Treat me to Ichiraku's before I go?" He asked hopefully. 

"Sure, why not? It's my lunch break soon, and I can give Hisato break as well."


	42. Preparations and Departure

Sasuke followed the three as they emerged from the department. He didn't ask what they were going to do, since they were headed in the obvious direction of Ichiraku's. Before they went in, Sasuke pulled Naruto aside. "I'll do the other things I talked about. See you in a bit, love." With a quick kiss, Sasuke walked away, leaving a giddy Naruto stating after him. God, he chose his mate well. And soon, Sasuke will belong to him forever... He felt greedy and wanted to claim Sasuke fully right then and there. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he watched Sasuke disappear in the crowd. 

Hisato stepped up next to him and pulled him out of his thoughts."I thought he disliked you." Hisato said, nudging him in the side.

Naruto turned his attention to Hisato, watching the man take a step back when their eyes met. With a sigh, Naruto blinked and let the intense feeling subside. "He's my mate." Naruto answered looking back to the crowd. He felt a small pang for not being able to see Sasuke anymore.

"Mate? As in a friend?" Hisato asked.

Naruto shook his head and looked at Hisato again. "No, I mean my life partner. He'll mother my children." Naruto said with a smile on his lips. He ducked into the small restaurant before Hisato had a chance to process the statement, ignoring the slight hurt on Hisato's face at his statement.

Naruto expertly avoided all further questioning by Hisato, either by making sure his mouth was full of delicious ramen, the last of the best ramen in the world for a long time for him, or by keeping his conversation with Morino up. When the food was all gone and so were the subjects to talk about, Naruto gave Morino a quick hug, waves goodbye and disappeared over the rooftops to find Sasuke. 

It can't hard to know where Sasuke was; he always knew where Sasuke was. Sasuke was already back at home, with everything they needed sealed and ready. Naruto stood in the doorway watching Sasuke until Sasuke noticed him. "We'll leave tomorrow if that's okay with you." Sasuke said. 

Naruto took a few steps into the room, but then stopped. "Sure." He said. There wasn't a hurry, after all. And the rest of the day to relax around the house brought a few interesting ideas to Naruto's mind. Interesting and exciting. Sasuke wasn't ready yet, but that didn't mean Naruto couldn't tease him a little. Or a lot. There was a lot yhe could do to Sasuke until he was ready to accept him to the fullest... With a smirk he let his eyes wander over Sasuke, raking his gaze over Sasuke's body as Sasuke moved around, cleaning up and organising the last few things. 

He stared for a few moments longer, knowing Sasuke was getting uncomfortable by his persistent gaze but that just made him more appealing to Naruto. The ever so slight blush creeping on to Sasuke's face looked delicious and Naruto couldn't wait to worsen it. "Sasuke..." He said in a low voice, demanding Sasuke's attention easily. Sasuke looked up with a questioning look. "Come here." Naruto added. Without thinking about it Sasuke walked over and stood before Naruto. 

Sasuke had to look down just a little bit, but that didn't make him feel less like he was submitting at the moment. For a moment he felt like he needed to step away, that he wasn't in the right mindset yet for this, given what had happened in the last few days. Before he could act, his thoughts were stopped and forgotten by the smile Naruto gave him and leaned in for a sweet kiss. "Good." Naruto did just before their lips met. Sasuke gladly let Naruto take the lead. It was easier in a way, releasing control for a while. 

Strong hands dug themselves into his black hair, twisting until it ached, but didn't really hurt. A soft moan escaped him and the slight tug at his hair that followed told him that Naruto had been looking for that reaction. Naruto didn't leave any room to breathe and doubled down on his grip and the kiss.

The feeling of Naruto's lips on his, forceful to the point where Sasuke was sure he'd be bruised, drowned his thoughts out completely and before long Sasuke found himself on his back, propped up on his elbows while Naruto was in his knees, a leg on either side, looming over him, kissing him in a way he couldn't escape. 

Naruto had one hand on Sasuke's throat to keep him in place, while his other wandered over Sasuke's clothing. Everywhere Naruto's hand went, a tingling sensation was left behind along with goosebumps. Like Naruto was searching for something, his fingers followed and felt every muscle, studying the reactions Sasuke gave him. Some places he touched made Sasuke's muscles tighten under his hand, while others provided a shudder that ran more deeply. Not a place went untouched and the further down Naruto's hand travelled, the stronger a reaction Sasuke gave. It was like Naruto was guiding all sensations down to his groin and the feeling knotted itself tightly there. 

Sasuke let himself lie down further, needing to put his arms around Naruto's neck, and Naruto followed him eagerly, both hands now free to roam and easily finding Sasuke's more sensitive spots now that he had the opportunity to push Sasuke's shirt up.

Naruto moved to his neck, scraping his teeth over the still sensitive bite marks from before. The sensation was almost enough for Sasuke to miss that Naruto was undoing his pants, working his underwear down and exposing him to the cold air. Naruto did the same to himself, then grabbed them both with one hand and started moving up and down, eliciting moans from Sasuke. Sasuke put a hand over his mouth to stifle the noises, but it wasn't much help. He couldn't stop them and he felt the blush on his cheek intensify. Closing his eyes he hoped the embarrassment would subside, but Naruto didn't let him.

Naruto suddenly stopped moving. "Move your hand, Sasuke, I want to hear you." Naruto said, his voice leaving no mistake that he expected to be obeyed. When Sasuke didn't respond immediately, Naruto made a sound akin to a growl and grabbed both Sasuke's wrists with it, roughly pinning them above Sasuke's head. Sasuke's wrists hurt as Naruto leaned his full weight on them. For a moment, Naruto watched him, waiting for Sasuke to stop struggling against his hold. It didn't take long and Sasuke managed to look up at Naruto. Naruto smiled when Sasuke gave up, leaning down to lick and then kiss along Sasuke's jaw. At the same time, he started moving his hand again, earning moans and pants from Sasuke. His own breathing also sped up as he started moving faster.

Sasuke started writhing underneath him, trying to move his body to handle the feeling building up in his abdomen better, but Naruto wasn't allowing him, so instead he cried out louder, curving his back off the floor. Naruto grunted in his neck, making him shiver and overloading his senses even more. When it became almost unbearable he curled his face into Naruto's neck, finding support and a spot to stifle the whimpers he couldn't stop. He started moving his hips along the rhythm Naruto had set and soon cries out loud in release. At the same moment, Naruto bit down on his shoulder again, but not hard enough to break the skin. The shot of painful pleasure made it feel like he had a second release so close after the first it was non-stop. At the same time, he felt Naruto buck his hips and heard him grunt in release as well. 

After a few unsteady breaths, Naruto released his grip on Sasuke's wrists and sat back a bit. His other hand was covered in cum from both of them. For a second he looked at it before looking down at Sasuke. The rest was on Sasuke's stomach and Naruto himself was surprisingly clean. He licked his hand clean and then licked Sasuke's stomach clean. He felt Sasuke gripping his hair and pushing him away a bit, but he ignored it. "Naruto... Stop that..." Sasuke protested feebly, but Naruto just grabbed his wrists again to prevent him from stopping him and continued licking his way up until their lips found each other again. The mixing of their flavours was amazing and Sasuke found himself eagerly kissing back after the first shock subsided while wrapping his arms around Naruto once more. Naruto returned the hug and smoothly changed their position into a cuddle by rolling them on their sides and intertwining their legs comfortably. 

When the kiss finally broke both needed a moment to catch their breath. Sasuke cuddled closer against Naruto's chest and for once didn't mind feeling smaller and more vulnerable for the moment. It was nice feeling surrounded by strength instead of being the strength for change. "That was... unexpected." Sasuke mumbled. Naruto chuckled and kissed Sasuke on top of his head.

"Yeah..." Naruto agreed. He nudged Sasuke's chin up so he would look at him. "Anything left we need to do before we can go, or can I claim your attention like this for the rest of the night?" Naruto asked, already letting his fingers slide across Sasuke's skin to emphasise his question. 

"Nothing I can think of right now, but then again, you're making it really hard to think about anything right now..." Sasuke said, rolling onto his back and dragging Naruto with him so Naruto was once again on top of him. Sasuke slid his hands under Naruto's shirt and removed it quickly. 

"Is that so? I guess I have no reason to hold back then." Naruto said smirking. He quickly claimed Sasuke's lips once again and undressed him completely, only breaking the kiss to get the shirt over Sasuke's head. 

Naruto wasn't rough per se, but he didn't leave Sasuke a lot of choices either. His firm hold on Sasuke was enough to have Sasuke struggling and writhing underneath him the whole time. They didn't go further than touching, Naruto not wanting to rush Sasuke into something he barely knew the real meaning of. He'd mate Sasuke soon enough, but he was going to tell Sasuke his little secret before he did. No lies and secrets anymore.

It wasn't until a little after midnight Sasuke finally got the chance to catch his breath again. He was ready to go to sleep then and there, but Naruto dragged him up and into a warm bath. Once he was in the water, he was grateful for it. Relaxing, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. A moment later Naruto all canon-balled into the bathtub, splashing a lot of water out of the bathtub and into Sasuke's face. Naruto was all giggles as he chased the bubbles with his hands and coached them into somewhat-structures before smashing them and splashing more water out of the bathtub. Sasuke smiled as he watched Naruto rummage around, guessing his playful side had bubbled to the surface again. 

Naruto turned around and grinned at Sasuke, moving to be closer so he could steal a quick chaste kiss. Sasuke stopped his approach by placing a finger against the tip of his nose lazily. "You know, I don't really like your last name much, Uzumaki." Sasuke said seriously.

Naruto looked at him confused and poured for a moment, sitting back a little bit. "Like Uchiha is that much better..." He muttered.

Sasuke sat up a little and leaned towards Naruto with a small smile. "Actually I do. It would suit you much better." He pecked Naruto's lips quickly, watching what he said sink in for a moment. The blush blooming on Naruto's cheek made him chuckle. How Naruto could go from in control and strong to childlike and innocent like that still amazed Sasuke, but he could never get enough of it. All of it was typically Naruto despite the moods varying so strongly. Maybe travelling together for a while wasn't going to be so bad. He was looking forward to tomorrow.

It was a late night in, but that didn't mean that they weren't leaving at dawn the next morning. It would be good to travel at least a good few miles the first day even if they didn't have a real goal yet. They'd find one on the way or just wander around. After all, that was the freedom they had been given. They exited Konoha in silence. There weren't any people besides the gatekeepers and neither of them minded each other very much. After all, Shinobi went and came at all hours of the day and an early departure wasn't uncommon.

As soon as they could, they took the the trees, travelling quickly, but at a pace easily maintained by both of them. Naruto seemed to have forgotten about Konoha before it was even out of view, but Sasuke glanced back a few times more, seeing the gate and walls getting smaller each time. He looked back to Naruto to find him smiling at him. "So, where are we going?" He asked.

"East until we reach the border, then south along it until we reach the ocean." Sasuke answered. The smile he got as an answer was enough to believe he picked their first destination right. 


	43. Sweet Start And A Rough End

The ocean was amazing! The vast blue surface breaking into white foamy peaks as the waves crashed towards the shore was just amazing! It was so big and endless and amazing! For a moment Naruto stared over the endlessly amazing surface while standing atop a high dune. "This is amazing!" He said, smiling happily. Then he bolted full speed towards the edge of the water, ready to storm in when he came to a sudden halt that also cut off his breath. Sasuke had grabbed him back by the back of his shirt and proceeded to drag him back while Naruto flailed about in protest. "Let me go, I wanna go swimming already!" He yelled, hitting Sasuke's hand without any real effort behind it.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm not letting you get into the water fully dressed just to whine afterwards that your clothes are wet and you're cold, idiot." Sasuke said, coming to a stop near the dunes. It wasn't that warm today and the water was definitely not going to be warm either. He looked back to see Naruto pouting up at him. The adorable puppy dog eyes he was giving were almost enough for Sasuke to release him, but he held firm, knowing Naruto was going to be a whiny mess if he let go now. 

"But I wanted to drink some of the water..." Naruto whined pouting. 

Sasuke gave him an incredulous look. "Have you never been to the ocean? You can't drink that. The water is way too salty to drink." 

For a moment a mischievous smirk flashed across Naruto's face, but he pulled himself together quickly and gave Sasuke the most innocent look he could muster. "I thought you knew by now..." He bit his lip a bit, quickly glancing down before looking back at Sasuke. "I like it salty." 

Sasuke almost chocked at that statement, unable to keep the instant blush off of his face. He let go of Naruto, dropping him the small bit he had been keeping him up. "F-fine, just go, but undress first and don't come whining to me when you get sick!" The words hadn't fully left his mouth when Naruto started running towards the sea again, making Sasuke end his sentence in a yell. Along the way Naruto started undressing, leaving a trail of discarded items behind. "You could have at least left your underwear on!" Sasuke yelled after him, picking up Naruto's stuff and following him towards the water's edge at a leisurely pace. "Idiot." He muttered as Naruto crashed into the incoming waves stark naked and came up coughing, gagging and, somehow, giggling.

For the last two weeks they had been travelling, and Naruto had been showing off all of his different sides in that time. Sasuke had been eager to get to know all of him better. It has been nice. Peaceful, almost, to a point where Sasuke started suspecting something was wrong or going to go wrong, or something like that. The sense of dread had been slowly building in intensity ever since their meeting with the Hokage. Here and there Sasuke had caught Naruto staring at him in a way that left him a little unnerved, but it wasn't like Naruto wasn't just unnerving from time to time, so Sasuke didn't attribute much thought to it at first. 

He caught Naruto staring at him like that again. Naruto was quite a way into the water and just his head was above the water, but it was clear he was staring at Sasuke with a calculated gaze. The moment their eyes met, the look on Naruto's face changed to a happy smile and he threw up a hand to wave at Sasuke, only to lose his balance and go under. Sasuke chuckled, but then his previous thoughts returned. It was like something was obvious and he was just missing it. With a sigh, he sat down and waited for Naruto.

After a while, Naruto came out of the water a shivering mess, practically dropping into Sasuke's lap and curling up in search of warmth. "Really?" Sasuke asked, feeling his clothes getting wet from the seawater. Naruto just stayed quiet and cuddled against him more.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around him. "You done?" He asked softly. Naruto nodded and Sasuke moved to stand up. When Naruto wouldn't let him, he chuckled, knowing Naruto didn't want to break the contact between them. "If you put on your clothes, I'll carry you for a while, but I do want to get to the next village before it gets dark." It was actually quite impressive to Sasuke how quickly Naruto could move with the right motivation. In mere seconds he was fully dressed, except for shoes, but Naruto seemed to avoid those most of the time.

It was quite relaxed, walking through a forest to the nearest village, Naruto cosied up against his back, half asleep. 

"Sasuke..." Naruto said sleepily, moving to sit up a little better and fighting the fog of sleep away. "There's something I need to tell you." Naruto said, drawing in Sasuke's attention easily. "Remember when we got sent out on this mission and you thought it was weird Kakashi wasn't there and the whole mission thing? Well, it was, kinda. At least for you it was." Sasuke stopped and put Naruto down, so he could turn around and look at him. "We didn't get time to train together. We got a mission that should have been done in five days. And that was two months ago, not two weeks." Naruto said grinning awkwardly and waited for Sasuke's response. Naruto looked like a five-year-old confessing to doing something wrong and hoping for a good outcome.

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked, not quite grasping what Naruto just said, but certain it had to be something Naruto did.

"Why is your conclusion that I did something?" Naruto asked, almost sounding insulted, but also a little amused. Sasuke just glared at him for a while, silently demanding an answer. It didn't take long for Naruto to crumble to the intense stare. "Uhm... Well, you see..." Naruto started, avoiding eye contact with Sasuke.

"What did you do?" Sasuke repeated, now with a little threat in his voice.

Naruto clamped down his jaw, taking in a deep breath through his nose to collect some courage. "There was no way Jiji was going to let me stay free after our fight. The ANBU that guarded me probably already told him everything before we even got there. I didn't want to go back into the darkness, not ever again..." Naruto said. "I can't..."

"Please don't tell me you did something to Kakashi-sama or Sarutobi-sama." Sasuke said, almost begging. If they'd really been gone for two months and they'd left after Naruto did something to either one of the Hogake, they would be seen as Nukenin by now. What did Naruto do?

"No! No." Naruto said, holding up his hands. "No, but uhm, I don't think they are expecting us to come back soon anymore... Or ever..." 

"What..? What did you do, exactly?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto and stepped closer. He was so frustrated with Naruto right now. His whole world was being flipped upside down right now and Naruto wasn't making it easy to understand.

"You can make someone believe a lot with a Genjutsu..." Naruto answered. The stumbling and insecurity were replaced by a sadistic grin and a steady stare. "What would you have done if you had the option to manipulate reality into the truth you need it to be?" He added, his eyes unfocused and his hand trailing through the air as though he was touching something, grasping at something. "But the Scarecrow has that eye. He can't be tricked that easily, so I made sure he was lost on the path of life real good and long on the way to work that morning."

Naruto focussed his attention back to Sasuke, who fought the urge to back up and run at the intensity of the stare and the insanity contained within that grin. For the first time in a long while, Sasuke realised he was in the presence of insanity. He'd gotten used to it, at least to some degree. It had become normal, but Naruto wasn't normal. He was untamed and, in a way, uncontrollable. There had always been something lurking underneath the surface and when it did surface, it was intense. 

"It wasn't that hard." Naruto continued. "Sarutobi-san just didn't really hear what you were telling him. He was listening to my truth, and send us on an easy mission together. Locate and collect. Five days tops. We're just a tad bit overdue." Naruto grinned and winked at that. "And you only heard my truth as well, a long training mission. Even time is just perception and easily changed. That's why you think we left two weeks ago when it was two months."

"Why would you do that? I wouldn't have let them just drag you off into the department again. I would have kept you safe." Sasuke was feeling a little heartbroken and defeated at this point. If this was all true then they no longer belonged to Konoha... But it also kind of stung that Naruto didn't trust him to keep him safe.

The grin melted away, replaced by an expression that could only be explained as spiteful. Naruto dug his fingers into his own hair painfully tight as he stared at Sasuke. "I hate Konoha." Naruto hissed, his voice bitter and cold. "If it wasn't for Sarutobi-sama, I would have killed every single one of the ANBU that came for me that day in the woods." He took a step closer to Sasuke. "If it wasn't for Cat and Dog, I would have hunted down every single person that ever hurt me." He released the grip on his hair to caress Sasuke's cheek as he spoke. "If it wasn't for Morino-san, I would have been kept in a dark room with no food except the occasional cellmate and I wouldn't have hesitated to kill them, and anyone else that wandered across my path." Sasuke swallowed hard and stepped back, but Naruto followed him step by step, reaching out to Sasuke and placing his hands on the back of Sasuke's neck, intertwining his fingers. Sasuke backed up until he stood against a tree and was left with nowhere to go. "And if it wasn't for you, my mate, my sweet love, I would have razed that village to the ground for what they did to me." Naruto finally broke eye contact and looked down. "I can't go back there. I won't go back." He rose his eyes again to meet Sasuke's. "And that means you cannot go back. You're my mate. You belong with me." Sasuke held his breath as Naruto leaned in closer and ever so gently started kissing him. 

For a moment, Sasuke didn't know how to respond, but he quickly collected his thoughts and turned his head away. "No." He chocked out, but Naruto twisted his hands into Sasuke's hair and kept him in place as he kissed him again, more forcefully this time. Sasuke continued to struggle, but as always Naruto proved to be stronger than him and when Naruto's lips caressed over the bite marks on his shoulder, it was like he lost all strength in his legs and he sank to the ground.

"Naruto, stop it." Sasuke struggled against Naruto as Naruto loomed over him. Naruto didn't leave Sasuke any room to move, trapping him against the tree, touching and caressing him wherever he could. 

The moment Naruto leaned back a bit to breathe, Sasuke managed to hook his elbow into Naruto's face with enough force to get him off of him. Staggering to his feet, Sasuke quickly jumped away trying to run away from Naruto, but Naruto was faster than him. They struggled and Naruto easily pinned him against a tree again. 

Naruto saw the look of fright clear on Sasuke's face and his heart gave a pang at that. He backed up a little to give Sasuke some space and started whispering sweetly, looking desperate. "Sasuke, please, you're my mate. You can't be afraid of me. Please, don't be afraid of me." He pleaded, tears in his eye. As he talked he pressed his forehead against Sasuke's, holding Sasuke's face and looking into his eyes. Sasuke stared back at him wide-eyed. 

Sasuke swallowed hard and he felt his heart rate pick up in his throat. There was an innate sense of danger settling into Sasuke as he stared back, unable to break eye contact. At the same time, there was a sense of ease with Naruto so close to him. Right now, though, fear was definitely winning. He pressed himself further against the tree for as far as that was possible.

"You can't be afraid of me." Naruto said more harshly, twisting his hands into Sasuke's hair tighter and enforcing his grip painfully hard. Sasuke winched and grabbed at Naruto's wrists, digging his nails into Naruto's skin in an attempt to get Naruto to let him go. "Naruto, let me go!" He growled while trying to remain composed, but Naruto didn't seem to really hear him.

"You belong with me." Naruto said. "You know that, right? You can feel that just like I can. You must. There is no choice anymore, you and I belong together, forever." For a moment Naruto stopped to breath in harshly. "I will give you my forever and you will give me all you are." It wasn't a question. It was a demand. One that couldn't be denied because there was a fundamental truth in it, and Sasuke knew it. 

Again Naruto kissed him, roughly but with love and passion. He let go of Sasuke's hair and instead held his face gently. He felt Sasuke attempt to push him away, but he held firm. After a couple of seconds, Sasuke stopped fighting him and after a moment more, he actually kissed back. Hesitantly, but he did kiss back. 

There were so many emotions and thought running through Sasuke's mind, but the one that stood out the most to him was how right it felt to be with Naruto. The kiss only made that feeling louder, and Sasuke gladly gave into it. 

All of the sudden, Naruto moved back, breaking the kiss, and the next thing Sasuke saw was the gleam of a blade flashing towards him. He ducked to cover, raising his arms in front of his face to shield himself. He felt the knife scratch across his Hitai-ate and when he dared uncover his face, he found Naruto smiling at him with a kunai in hand. Naruto had scratched Sasuke's Hitai-ate and proceeded to scratch his own too. 

The conclusion settled into Sasuke's mind dully and almost emotionless. He guessed they were Nukenin now... He wasn't completely sure yet if he was okay with it all, but while looking into Naruto's eyes, he couldn't think of any good reason to want to be part of a village that Naruto didn't want to be part of. So he nodded to Naruto, accepting even this from him without much constraint.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this book so far, please give kudos! I also would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!


End file.
